Effects of Students' Curriculum Engagement, Attitudes Toward Their Teachers, and Perception of Their Teachers' Skills on School-Based Prevention Curriculum Outcomes

• NCJ Number: 229510
• Journal: Journal of Drug Education Volume: 39 Issue: 3 Dated: 2009 Pages: 223-237
• Author(s): Christopher Ringwalt; Melinda Pankratz; Nisha Gottfredson; Julia Jackson-Newsom; Linda Dusenbury; Steve Giles; David Currey; Bill Hansen
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): 5 R01DA016098
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study investigated the association between the behaviors and mediating variables targeted by the All Stars drug prevention curriculum and the students' engagement in and enjoyment of the curriculum, their attitudes toward their teachers, and their perceptions of their teachers' skills.

Abstract

We examined the association between changes in the substances and mediating variables targeted by the All Stars drug prevention curriculum, and students' engagement in and enjoyment of the curriculum, their attitudes toward their teachers, and their perceptions of their teachers' skills. Forty-eight school staff administered at least 1 All Stars class, for up to 3 consecutive years, to their seventh grade students in 107 classes in a large Midwestern school district. A sample of 2,428 students completed a linked pretest and post-test, for a response rate of 91 percent. We found that students' engagement in and enjoyment of the curriculum, their attitudes toward their teachers, and their perceptions of their teachers' skill were all associated with positive changes in the curriculum's five mediators, but not with changes in students' substance use per se. Study findings suggest the importance of these three attributes to the achievement of the objectives of prevention curricula. Tables and references (Published Abstract)