| Abstract: | During the 1980s, many school-based primary prevention programmes were developed and adopted by schools. Much of the early enthusiasm which greeted these programmes dissipated in the light of often disappointing evaluations of the impact of the programmes on children. It is argued, however, that evaluating student outcomes should not occur before theextent of programme utilization is established. In this paper, an overview is given on the dilemmas and problems faced by teachers attempting to implement a primary prevention programme in South Australia. It is revealed that teachers selectively omit sections of the primary prevention programme as a way of resolving personal dilemmas presented by the programme. Some teachers are sensitive about teaching personal and controversial issues related to child abuse, while others deny the seriousness of child abuse in theirschool. The implications of the findings are that: (a) it cannot be assumed that primary prevention programmes are implemented by teachers in ways that are consistent with programme design; (b) teachers' personal beliefs, attitudes and feelings need to be addressed in any school-based primary prevention initiative; (c) training approaches and school support mechanisms need to focus on methods by which teachers can resolve the dilemmas raised by school-based primary prevention programmes in ways other than by radically dismembering the programme. |
