Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education

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Browsing Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education by Author "Bhengu, Helen Jabu"

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    Evaluation of drug abuse prevention programmes for adolescents in secondary schools
    (University of Zululand, 2014) Bhengu, Helen Jabu; Nzima, D.R.
    The current investigation consists of one aim and two objectives. The aim is to evaluate drug abuse prevention programmes for adolescents in secondary schools and the effect that they have on attitudes, knowledge and behaviour. The objectives are to determine the effectiveness of the drug abuse prevention programmes on attitude, knowledge and behaviour on adolescents and the relationship between them. The research methodology was in the form of a quantitative survey. A questionnaire was administered to a group of grades 10 and 11 learners between ages 14 to 25 from four selected schools. Twenty-five year olds were included in the target group as it is not unusual for adult learners to still be at school with minors, especially in rural areas. This may have an influence on adolescents’ attitudes towards drug abuse. It was therefore of utmost importance for them to understand the effects of abusing drugs. Respondents were randomly selected with the help of Life Orientation Educators in each school. Questionnaires were distributed to a sample population of one hundred learners. Ten of these questionnaires were not properly completed and therefore were not included in the final analysis. The results demonstrated that the use of drugs is prevalent in the surveyed schools and respondents were aware of its consequences. The results also demonstrated that a significant number of the respondents had a negative attitude toward the use of drugs, while a small number of respondents did not see any problem in using drugs. It was concluded that the influence on behavioural change in the schools surveyed is not due to formal prevention programmes but to the involvement of parents and peer educators, who are not involved in formal programmes for drug prevention. Furthermore, it was found that in these schools no programmes were available for the education of learners about drug abuse and its consequences. While respondents have shown a positive attitude and behaviour toward drugs and its use, it is important to note that formal drug prevention programmes do not seem to exist in schools and where they are claimed to exist, they refer to life skills programmes and drug awareness programmes.
University of Zululand