Effects on students of teacher training in use of a drug education curriculum

The study reported here examines the effects of differential teacher training in use of a drug education curriculum on students' knowledge levels, problem-solving and coping skills, attitudes towards planned decision making, behavioral intentions and tobacco and alcohol use. An experimental design was used to compare the effects of exposure to teachers who had either intensive staff development, in-service training or no training. The findings indicate a statistically significant difference between groups of students on the intention to drink alcohol. Students whose teachers had intensive staff development were less likely to intend to take a drink if offered than students whose teachers had in-service or no training. Possible reasons for a lack of significant results on other variables are the confounding influences of school, classroom and teacher effects.