The purpose of this research was to determine empirically whether or not a pharmacologically based drug education program results in a change in the recipient's behavior and attitude with reference to potentially harmful drugs. A further objective of this research was to determine empirically whether or not a non-pharmacologically based human relationship program results in a change in the recipient's behavior and attitude with reference to potentially harmful drugs. A conceptual model for drug education utilizing four components was also developed. The sample consisted of 284 grade eight boys and girls in one Vancouver, B.C., high school of whom less than one-half were experimental and more than one-haIf were control. Of the 117 students in the experimental groups, fifty-five students, in two sexually segregated class groupings, were involved in the pharmacologically based drug education program. Sixty-two students in two sexually segregated class groupings were involved in the non-pharmacologically based human relationship program. The control group consisting of 167 students received the normal guidance and study block programs which did not include any form of drug education. A drug behavior questionnaire and a drug attitude semantic differential were developed for the pretest -postest control group design. An assumption central to the use of both instruments is that scores on the behavior questionnaire or the semantic differential scales which were considered to be evaluative can be taken as indicants of the respondent's actual behavior and attitudes with reference to the concepts relating to drugs. The pharmacologically based drug education program consisted of thirteen, one hour sessions of basic pharmacological and legal information transmitted by videotape productions, paper and pencil activities, large group discussions and pamphlets applicable to the basic cognitive data. The non-pharmacologically based human relationship program consisted of fifteen, one hour sessions of structured experiences and cognitive learning and was based on several psychological systems of thought. This program was prematurely terminated at the end of the fourth session. In the analysis of data, the Hotelling routine yielded the basic data for the thirty-eight variables of the drug behavior questionnaire and a student t statistic at the .05 level of significance was employed in determining between-group equivalance and the null hypotheses measured at postest. The Alberta General Factor Analysis Program yielded the basic data for the drug attitude semantic differential and one-way analyses of variance were employed on emerging concept structures in determining pretest between-group equivalence and the null hypotheses measured at postest. Missing data from the instruments were not scored at pretest nor at postest and it affected none of the computations. The pharmacologically based drug education program yielded non-statistically significant differences for the measured variables from the drug behavior questionnaire and a non-systematic mean difference effect as compared with the control group at postest. The non-pharmacologically based human relationship program yielded non-statistically significant differences for the measured variables from the drug behavior questionnaire and a systematic and negative (decrease) mean difference effect as compared with the control group at postest. There was no statistically significant difference in the treatment recipients' drug-using and anti-establishment attitudes as measured by the postest drug attitude semantic differential between the pharmacologically based drug education program, the non-pharmacologically based human relationship program and the control group. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Ways in which regional college students perceive drug abuses, their levels of moral reasoning, their attitudes toward drug abuses and the interrelationships among these variables were investigated. The intent was to present this information on these variables in such a way that teachers involved in drug education could readily accommodate to these variables to facilitate learning. Multidimensional scaling, using the IKDSCAL model, was employed to determine the number of dimensions that would span perceptions of the drug abuses; to provide the saliences of each dimension; and to describe the qualitative nature of these perceptions. On analysis it was found that the perceptions were three-dimensional in nature and that, generally, the group only differentiated between cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol. The other drugs were grouped together. The test on moral reasoning placed this group well below the expected level, probably due to the inherent characteristics of this diverse group. The test on attitudes indicated unfavourableness toward drug abuses. On graphing the perceptions of drug abuses and levels of moral reasoning it was found that those students who demonstrated high levels of moral reasoning on the moral dilemmas test clustered highly on all dimensions. On the other hand, on graphing the perceptions of drug abuses and attitudes toward drug abuses the students who obtained the highest and the lowest scores on the attitude test did not exhibit any clustering on any of the dimensions. The results of this study stress the lack of discrimination between beneficial drugs and addictive, mind-destroying drugs. This distressing finding, plus the rather low levels of moral reasoning demonstrated by this group, indicates that a strong teaching program, comprising science classes on drug action and a component on the development of moral principles, is urgently required. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

This study examined the values, competencies, and goals of educators related to preventing drug abuse. Its purpose was to develop a new theory to define the crisis moral community among the educators: a theory which linked the primary variables (values, competencies, and goals) in such a way as to reveal their relationships. Twenty rural educators who had participated in a drug education training program, were surveyed using two instruments: one which examined their perceived competencies to conduct drug education and one which examined their values related to four imagined conflict situations. The relationship between the two assessments linked the teachers' values to their perceived level of competency and the goal of their drug education program. The face value of the data permitted the development of a finer description of the three linked variables. Not only do the variables covary; they also transform as they move from simple to complex (values), random to purposeful (competencies), and information-only to enfranchisement (goals). The primary result supports a crisis among the educators surveyed. The substantive conclusion is the development of enfranchisement theory as a higher order method for preventing drug abuse. Enfranchisement theory establishes a critical horizon that explains the failure of many drug education programs (DARE, for example) and proposes a values set, level of educator competency, and program goals for effective drug education. / Graduation date: 1995

This study addressed the efficacy of a multimodal substance abuse prevention program with elite-level athletes. By utilizing components of substance abuse information and education, coping skills training, and self-esteem strategies, the study examined the effect of these variables on the subsequent alcohol and drug use behaviors and attitudes of the participants.In addition, measures of self-esteem and stress were examined to determine the effect of prevention on these variables. Gender differences were examined regarding substance use behaviors and attitudes, and change score measures were utilized to observe for behavioral changes from pretest to follow-up testing.Results indicated no differences on any of the dependent measures. Utilizing a repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), no significant differences in substance use behaviors and attitudes between athletes in the treatment and control conditions were found. There were also no gender differences reported on the dependent measures. In addition, chisquare (X2) analyses demonstrated no behavioral or attitudinal differences. A significant finding indicated that control group subjects had more substance abuse changes (both positive and negative) than the treatment condition. The hypotheses of the study were unconfirmed as a result of the statistical analyses.Limitations of the present study include the small sample size (although representative of the population), the small amount of actual reported use behaviors, and the length of the program (not sufficient time). It is recommended that future research in this area maintain the multimodal approach, while lengthening the time of implementation. Future dependent measures must be able to accurately detect small fluctuations in reported substance abuse behavioral changes.The survey data suggest that athletes at the elite level do demonstrate alcohol and drug use behaviors that may be detrimental to their personal and professional potential. Substance abuse education programs are necessary components of holistic prevention for athletes at all levels of training and competition. Future programs must consider the present study in the development of more successful and practical substance abuse education for athletes. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of the study was to gather and analyze data concerning the implementation of drug education programs in fourteen selected Indiana senior high schools. The study focused on several aspects of the drug education programs including the description of the type of program; the determination of need for the program; school policies related to student drug abusers; in-service training programs for teachers; school-community drug programs; evaluation techniques; and the role of the high school principal in planning, implementing, and evaluating drug education programs.

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, 2003. / This study encompasses the phenomenon of drug abuse in the context of learning and teaching. The researcher endeavoured to explore certain aspects of this phenomenon in this particular context in view of a growing concern about the apparent demise of a culture of learning in our schools and related learning environments, and the threatening consequences thereof on a much wider front than might generally be realized. Due to the interwovenness and mutual playing field of learning and teaching, such threat will inevitably not only adverse affect learning, but teaching as well. The literature study revealed factors which are possibly as known in some circles but it is unknown or ignored in other, causing the potentially disastrous consequences of the latter to be underestimated while aggravating the threat to a vulnerable terrain such as the learning environment in its different school related manifestations. Due to the magnitude of the phenomenon of drug abuse, and consequently its impact on learning and teaching, this study had to be demarcated to some causes and effects of drug abuse on learning and teaching. The study concentrated on what the researcher termed an interplay between these factors, that might impact drug abuse, something that appears to be at the root of the perceived uneasiness and even despondency in education circles as regards the apparent fading of a culture of learning in the learning environment. An empirical investigation of this natuie, being regionally locusci only, is obviously limited in its outcome. Although conclusive, generally representative inferences could not be drawn, it indicated without doubt that the culture of learning and teaching in the learning environment has been dented and is in fact under siege by drug abuse. Certain recommendations such as the following were made and motivated: > Ignorance as regards drug abuse and its effects on the learning environment should be combated by providing the necessary infrastructure, particularly in the rural areas. Determining needs, purposeful action and the monitoring thereof should carry the main focus. > Prevention, intervention and rehabilitation are to be given much more prominence, inter alia by ensuring and expertly monitoring prevention, intervention and rehabilitation programmes for the victims and potential victims of drug abuse in the learning environment. > Further research which should include, inter alia^ and in particular, drug trafficking, especially as regards access into the organized learning environment, viz. the school.

No description available.

This study was an investigation of teaching strategies and student outcomes of the drug education program in five pilot schools in Oklahoma as these programs relate to the "ideal" program recommended by drug education experts. This study had a twofold purpose. The first was to determine the differences of the perceptions of students, teachers and administrator toward the drug education program in their own school. The second was to compare this perceived "actual" program with the "ideal" program as described by selected drug education experts. The study centers on five exploratory questions. With the completion of the five exploratory questions, it was concluded that the factors that are descriptive of the "ideal" and "actual" drug education programs can be identified from opinions of persons who have an interest in or responsibility for effective information concerning the drug scene.

No description available.

No description available.