« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
3.0 PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF DRUG EDUCATION
This section reports respondents' recall, perceptions and experiences of drug education. It begins by describing the perceived extent and coverage of drug education in both primary and secondary schools (3.1). Section 3.2 examines the different kinds of approaches which respondents appeared to have experienced in their drug education lessons. Finally, Section 3.3 discusses the different methods of teaching and learning which respondents recalled, and how they engaged with them.
3.1 Extent and Coverage
Because the respondents represented a fairly broad age range, from 8-20 years, some were describing and commenting on drugs education that was ongoing or had been received fairly recently, while others were referring to lessons several years ago. These differences in salience and recall should be borne in mind throughout this and subsequent sections.
Most respondents felt that they had received a fair amount of drug education over the course of both primary and secondary school. In only a small number of groups did individuals feel felt that they had been taught relatively little on the subject:
"We haven't actually done that much on it."
Female, S3, School H, Secondary, Independent
During primary school, most of the teaching about drugs was perceived by respondents to have taken place during years P6 and P7. Other comments made by respondents, in the wider context of 'health education', suggested that they had covered topics such as personal safety, medicines and crime in other years during primary school. These lessons may have been part of a planned drug education programme, but were not necessarily perceived as lessons about drugs by pupils.
Secondary school pupils and school leavers recalled having received drug education throughout secondary school, but felt that there was more coverage during earlier stages (S1-S4). They did recall receiving some drug education in later years (S5 and S6) but because of changes in the timetable, this was normally implemented in a shorter, more intense teaching blocks (eg. a 'Health Day').
There was a general perception that drug education was better structured during secondary school than in primary although, on the whole, respondents did not perceive strong links or progression between the drug education that they received over different stages at school.
"It's the same stuff, year after year."
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
"They tell you the same thing again when you do it the next year. They do it again. You just kind of switch off when they start talking about drugs again because you hear it so many times."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Respondents recalled coverage of a range of different drugs in drug education lessons. The majority of respondents perceived alcohol and tobacco as drugs, and recalled having been taught about them in drug education, as well as about uncontrolled substances such as LSD, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis. Some respondents recalled these substances having been taught as discrete topics (eg. alcohol, smoking, drugs), while others remembered that all kinds of drugs were addressed as one collective topic:
"I think they did it together like a health thing, like the drugs and the alcohol, I think it was in one section."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
The emphasis on different drugs was perceived by respondents to have altered as they progressed through school. Smoking was perceived to have been covered more than any other kind of drug during primary school and the early stages of secondary school:
"I think we got more anti-smoking than for anti-drugs."
Female, 19-20, School G, Primary & Secondary, Independent
In contrast, alcohol was perceived to have received quite a lot of coverage during secondary school education.
"We got a lot about alcohol…. 'Don't drink'."
Male, 17-18, School F, Secondary, Statutory
It was notable that individuals from a school located in a fairly disadvantaged community (where the use of controlled drugs appeared to be quite widespread) felt that the emphasis in their drug education was more on controlled drugs:
"Aye but you get more lessons about drugs."
Male, S3, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"They talk more about drugs and less about drink, but it can just be as bad. They don't really talk as much about that. It's all just drugs."
Female, 17-18, School D, Secondary, Statutory
3.2 Approach
Respondents' accounts of what was taught in drug education in terms of content and perceived message suggested that the main underpinning approach was informational and that most lessons were primarily concerned with the provision of factual information. This is consistent with findings from the Observation research indicating that in the majority of lessons the dominant mode was the provision and acquisition of factual information. Respondents' descriptions of the lessons they could recall suggested that elements of some other approaches, such as informed choice, social norms, and resistance skills and harm reduction, also featured in drug education lessons, although to a lesser degree.
The different approaches are discussed below.
3.2.1 Information provision
Respondents across all age groups perceived that many of their drug education lessons were, or had been, focused on the provision of factual information about drugs. Factual information included information about the names for different drugs (both "street" and "proper" names), the different categories of drugs (eg. legal/illegal drugs, stimulants/depressants), the physiological/health effects of drug use, and the legal, social and emotional consequences of drug use. Each of these are now discussed in turn.
A common approach which respondents recalled was coverage of names for different types of controlled drugs. Although most remember learning the 'proper' names for drugs, not all recalled their drug education covering the street names.
"We got a wee leaflet which showed you all the pictures of drugs and it told you all the different names for them."
Female, 17-18, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"There were some that we knew of, but most of them we hadn't heard of."
Female, S3, School H, Secondary, Independent
Those who had not received this kind of information said that they would have liked coverage of it in their school drug education, although one older boy, with very strong anti-drugs views, said that he would not find this information at all useful or interesting: "It's never going to be of any relevance to me". One group of S4 boys, who attended school in a community where illegal drug use was common, were very familiar with the various street names for different types of drugs, listing names such as 'Playstation 2', 'Spiderman', 'Dennis the Menace', and 'Disco Burgers'. When asked where they had heard these names, they said it was a combination of information given to them by the police during a school visit, and what they had heard other people talking about within their local community.
Respondents of all ages also recalled learning about the different ways of categorising drugs. The most salient of these involved making the distinction between legal and illegal drugs, but they also remembered learning about the legal classifications of controlled drugs: "We had Class A, Class B, Class C". There was also recall of classifying drugs according to their physiological effects (eg. the difference between stimulants and depressants):
"We done the uppers and downers and all that. That is where we learned a lot about effects because a downer blocks out reality and then when the effect goes away it all comes back."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
This kind of learning appeared usually to take place during fairly interactive sessions that involved pupils actively categorising drugs, for example, by participating in a quiz about drug types or producing their own poster about a specific drug. It is possible that, in these cases, respondents were recalling lessons based on the 'Police Box' resource, which was reportedly used at some of the primary schools involved in the qualitative research.
Respondents also recalled drug education lessons addressing the physiological and health effects of drug use. Lessons on tobacco, in particular, tended to focus on the health consequences, as well as providing pupils with information about the content of cigarettes. Several respondents, both younger and older, recalled seeing images or models depicting the effects of smoking on the lung:
"The black one was all broken, it was just like that."
Male, S2, School E, Secondary, Statutory
"It was if you smoke your lungs will look like this and I remember seeing a picture of a tar filled lung."
Female, 19-20, School G, Primary & Secondary, Independent
"They showed us a picture of a smoker's lungs and a normal person's lungs. You looked at the smoker's lungs in an X-ray…it's like…they're that black."
Male, 17-18, School F, Secondary, Statutory
Lessons about alcohol also addressed long-term health effects (eg. damage to the liver) as well as shorter-term effects such as poor judgement and increased aggressiveness:
"It [alcohol] affects your brain".
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
"You get drunk and you don't know what you are doing. And you smash bottles and start fights."
Male, P7, School B, Primary, Statutory
During their lessons on alcohol, respondents also recalled being provided with information on the alcohol content of different drinks and the amount of alcohol in one unit: "One unit is half a of beer", "Men can handle more alcohol than ladies". One group of primary age respondents described a task that they were given to do, by a visiting policeman, which involved putting alcoholic drinks (such as whisky, cider and vodka) into order according to which is most "dangerous".
Several respondents recalled lessons about the "special effects" of some drugs, and effects on the body and mental state.
"There's another one that makes you see stuff, like he could be an Easter Bunny, all fluffy and pink, LSD or something…"
Male, P7, School B, Primary, Statutory
"One can make you think you can fly."
Male, S3, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"It makes you paranoid."
Male, S5-S6, School I, Secondary, Special Educational Needs
"Hash makes you … … you get the munchies."
Male, S3, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"There was a story about the guy who was in the dancing and he'd taken eckies and because he was dehydrating he kept drinking water and he drank too much."
Female, 17-18, School D, Secondary, Statutory
Where the police had been involved in teaching drug education, respondents' accounts suggested that the main emphasis had been on the legal classifications of different drugs and the penalties for possession of and dealing in different classes of drugs. Another focus of police lessons was on the links between drug-use and criminal behaviour:
"The police say even if you are not smoking it and you pass it to someone, that is drug dealing."
Male, S4, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"Stealing as well, stealing was a big one."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Police visits also provided pupils with information about drug dealing and how, for example, illicit substances are mixed with other products to make the drugs go further:
"People can put anything in it and just kid on to you that it is drugs."
Female, 17-18, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"No they just told you they are not all the same. It is not like they have a big bag and everything is the same, they will put different things in it."
Male, S2, School E, Secondary, Statutory
The social and emotional consequences of drug use seemed from respondents' accounts to be less frequently covered in drug education lessons than the physical and legal consequences. Despite this lower level of coverage, respondents did have a high awareness of these effects, often explaining that it was these kinds of consequences (eg. upsetting loved ones, jeopardising life and ambitions) which put them off drug use in the first place. This was particularly common among male respondents with sporting ambitions:
"You've got it in your head that you don't want to take them and you never really want to take them. I mean we both play sport so it's kind of, if you take drugs then you get caught in your sport then that's you, you'll never play your sport again.."
Male, 17-18, School C, Primary, Statutory
"If someone gives you heroin, you take it, you start…you know, get addicted to it and you don't play football, you chuck in sport and everything."
Male, P7, School B, Primary, Statutory
It is unclear where this awareness came from, although it is possible that some was derived from school drug education, particularly videos (see also section 3.3) as well as from television. For example, one male respondent recalled hearing a true story on television about a football player who became involved with drugs and the detrimental effect that this had on his career.
The implied underpinning message in these information-oriented messages was 'don't take drugs'. Sometimes this message was inferred from the predominantly negative slant of the information, rather then directly stated:
"In our classes it's very much 'we're not going to force you not to do it, but this was what's going to happen if you do do it and your life will be ruined if you do do it'."
Female, S3, School H, Secondary, Independent
In other cases, the message was explicitly stated. Pupils felt that they had been or were being firmly told not to take drugs, and that information was often skewed or presented selectively to reinforce this message:
"They just say don't and that is it."
Female, 17-18, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"Don't take them, you'll die basically."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
"Drugs are stupid, they could kill you."
Male, S5/S6, School I, Secondary, Special Educational Needs
Respondents perceived that the information they were given about drugs was often negatively slanted. For example, very few recalled being told anything about the potentially positive aspects of using drugs:
"It was definitely a negative picture. Drugs are bad things!"
Female, 19-20, School G, Primary & Secondary, Independent
Sometimes, the message appeared to have been underlined by emphasising the extreme consequences of drug use, using what respondents described as "shock tactics". These included hard-hitting videos and materials such as carbon monoxide detectors that could vividly demonstrate the effects of using drugs on the body:
"The smokers to breathe in this special machine and non-smokers and comparing the difference. It was like shock tactics again, isn't it?"
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
Other respondents perceived a more subtle message underpinning the provision of information about drugs. This was that pupils should equip themselves with the facts about drugs in order to make an informed choice:
"Think wisely about it."
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
"It is up to us because they are giving us all the information they can. At the end of the day it is your choice."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
Lessons were perceived to encourage pupils to think through the consequences of drug use and then make up their own minds. This was particularly the case with pupils from School H where the school programme reportedly has a strong emphasis on informed choice. Although pupils perceived that lessons using this approach provided information about both the up and downside to taking drugs, the emphasis was still felt to remain on the negative effects:
"It's your choice but they rather you not."
Male, S2, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Respondents were generally supportive of this kind of approach, saying that it was more likely to be effective than a 'just say no' approach:
"If you tell them not to do it they do the opposite."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
"That's why quite a few people have taken them. Because they've said 'Oh, don't do this!'. And then they've said 'So let's do it!'. Because they've said not to do it. It's almost like people go against what the teachers are saying."
Male, 17-18, School C, Primary, Statutory
3.2.2 Social norms and social influences
Respondents' accounts suggested that relatively few lessons were underpinned by a social norms or social influences approach. Several respondents did recall discussing 'peer pressure' during drug education lessons and being made aware that other people may try to influence them into taking drugs; however, very few were able to describe these lessons in any real detail, suggesting that they had been less frequent or intensive than information-based lessons.
Concepts of normative pressure and peer influence were familiar to respondents, although it was not clear whether this understanding had come from drug education lessons or had simply been acquired from personal experience and other influences:
"You might want to be with the 'in' crowd and it's sort of the same with drugs."
Female, 17-18, School F, Secondary, Statutory
"It's like someone thinking they're cool to start smoking and then the rest of her friends start..."
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
Older respondents in particular recognised that adhering to group norms was a vital strategy for making and maintaining friends and that, for some, experimenting with drugs would provide them with a means of 'fitting in':
"Yeah, someone who's never really stood out and then they get the chance to, like, be in their own group"
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
These older respondents tended to have a more complex understanding of the subtlety of peer pressure than younger respondents. They recognised that it was not usually a matter of young people being 'forced' by their peer groups into taking drugs but rather that individuals became more open to the prospect of trying drugs as a result of spending time in the company of other people who were taking drugs (often 'significant' social others such as older siblings).
"I don't know if it's peer pressure, I think there's people who are with older people, if it's older brothers or sisters, whatever it is, and they know, they see their older brother doing it and they think it's OK. It's more watching people rather than being made."
Male, 17-18, School C, Primary, Statutory
"I think it probably starts with a specific and then, if it's introduced from one person, then the rest kind of...it kind of spreads through friends."
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
Although respondents' accounts suggested that drug education lessons did not often address peer and social influence in much depth, several recalled videos apparently on this topic. This is discussed further in section 3.3 below.
3.2.3 Resistance
Several respondents described receiving drug education lessons which appeared to have been intended to provide specific advice and training in resisting drugs. Sometimes, this learning took place during a class discussion. In these cases the advice tended to be more general and was given to pupils verbally. For example, one respondents described how his class were simply told to avoid these kinds of situations by "staying away from people who were using drugs". In another case, someone remembered simply being told by a police officer not to accept drugs from anyone who offers them: "If someone offers you something, don't take it".
In other cases, respondents recalled occasional use of more active methods such as role play to practise saying 'no' to drugs.
"We did more factual role play. We did it once."
Female, S2, School F, Secondary, Statutory
Primary school pupils were particularly likely to recall and to be able to describe in some detail lessons of this sort. In these cases, it is possible than respondents were remembering lessons based on the Police Box resource which address self-esteem and provide training in resistance skills:
"We have been going over strategies like if somebody offers you any illegal drugs then how to get out of the situations."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
"And with the drugs, we were taught, if somebody hands you drugs, you wouldn't take them."
Male, P5-P7, School A, Primary, Statutory
These lessons appeared sometimes to have offered more specific suggestions for responding to drug offers than simply refusing:
"A good idea, she said, is just to pretend that your phone is ringing and say, 'oh that is my mum I'd better go now'. She said if it is peer pressure then they are not one of your friends, if you don't want to do it. If you said no."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
"Don't interfere with anybody that is taking it. If you see someone that is taking it and they offer it to you, just say no and walk away."
Male, S4, School D, Secondary, Statutory
Lessons involving the active practising of skills seemed to be more engaging for pupils than talk- or video-based lessons:
"Because not only is it making you like think about something actually happens, which is peer pressure, but it makes like the lessons more interesting with role play instead of just videos."
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
3.2.4 Harm reduction
Respondents' comments suggested that there was limited coverage of harm reduction in secondary school drug education. The exception was in discussion about alcohol, where the message was perceived not so much as 'say no', rather as 'drink safely'.
"It's not necessarily don't drink, don't drink! They try and advise you how to drink safely and know if you're in a situation what to do, stuff like that."
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
"There has been things like 'don't drink too much'."
Female, S3, School H, Secondary, Independent
"That's where it became people going out and drinking safely I'd say."
Male, 17-18, School C, Primary, Statutory
Only a few respondents remember being given information about taking controlled substances more safely as part of their drug education. One ex-independent school pupil recalled that Leah Betts' father, who had visited the school, had covered this in his talk, but he could not remember it in any detail. Other respondents recalled the police advising female pupils to protect themselves against drink 'spiking', and posters about the importance of drinking water in combination with certain drugs:
"He [police officer] spoke a little bit about drugs, like telling the girls they've got to be careful when they're out in clubs and whatever, like that."
Female, 17-18, School F, Secondary, Statutory
"That's just like posters that are up... ...like you're dying to keep you hydrated because you lose like a pint of water every hour or something if you're on ecstasy or whatever."
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
Respondents expressed mixed views about the appropriateness of using harm reduction messages in drug education. Some acknowledged that it would be difficult to discourage young people from using drugs altogether, so the next best thing would be to advise them about how to take drugs more safely:
"If someone is going to take drugs, you don't want to encourage them, but you'd prefer them to be as safe as possible."
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent,
Other respondents were opposed to this kind of approach because they felt that providing pupils with information about how to take drugs safely might be seen as permitting or encouraging drug use:
"That's like they condone it, isn't it?"
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
3.3 Teaching Styles and Methods
Respondents' accounts of drug education suggested that lessons were mostly led by the Guidance/ PSHE teacher or by an external delivery agent such as a community police officer or local drugs worker. A mixture of delivery methods were recalled, including videos, talks, written work, drama and discussions. Secondary school respondents appeared to have experienced their drug education lessons as largely passive in style, with a strong reliance on whole class inputs such as videos and talks.
"It's normally just the teacher, like, talking, just talking and not really discussing it and then, like, you watch a video or something."
Female, S3, School H, Secondary, Independent
Primary school pupils tended to describe more active methods, such as making anti-drugs posters/leaflets and role play. Respondents of all ages also recalled doing independent written work such as completing worksheets, and there was also recall of having watched drama performances. Some of the main methods are discussed in more detail below.
3.3.1 Videos
Videos appeared to be widely used in drug education lessons; almost all respondents remembered having seen a video about drugs at some point. Respondents perceived that videos had covered a range of different drug-related topics. Some videos were used to provide pupils with factual information about drugs:
"We watched a couple of videos about people and like what can make you take drugs, that they are really bad and the bad effects of it and the decisions of it."
Male, S2, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Videos often seemed to have featured drug-related criminal activity. One individual, from a special educational needs school, recalled seeing a video that provided insights into where drugs came from and how they are prepared for illegal distribution. Other videos highlighted the relationship between drug use and crime, and showed pupils how the police tackle drug-related crime:
"And the videos, they showed you how people go out and steal because they have got to pay the drug dealers for their drugs."
Male, S2, School E, Secondary, Statutory
"They show you a video. The police go bursting into this house and seeing all the people doing it. They show you where they hide it - drugs dealers houses."
Male, S4, School D, Secondary, Statutory
Other videos showed young people what is being done to help people who have drug addictions. For example, one girl remembered seeing a video featuring the work of a drugs clinic and how it sought to help drug addicts:
"Based on a clinic that, like…I can't remember where it was, it was like in Edinburgh or something, that give out clean needles and do like courses on how to do it safely and how to…and they help people who are addicts and can't do much about it and you've got to, like, say to these people who are addicts and have, like, no life because they're really anti-social because of it all and they don't have much money and a lot of them live on the street and things."
Female, S3, School H, Secondary, Independent
Other videos addressed choice issues and peer pressure:
"It was just like stories like of kids asking scenarios and like what choices they could have had... ...and like taking the drugs and then it would show you what they're like, what it would be like."
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
" There's one with a guy and girl and she's a smoker and she goes 'would you like a cigarette?' and he says like 'no' and she's like 'come on everyone does it, all the girls will fancy you' and he's like 'no' and she's like 'I believe..' ….and then ….he goes fine and takes it."
Female, S2, School F, Secondary, Statutory
Some videos seemed to have portrayed real life stories about people whose lives have been badly affected by drugs; several respondents remember seeing a video telling the story of Leah Betts. In some cases stories were told using personal accounts, through interviews with people who were directly affected, while other videos used professional actors to tell the story:
"Some were real. It showed you the video of the lassie that had died - her mum and her sisters all talking about it. That was real. But some of them were role play."
Female, 17-18, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"Most of the time it's based on what actually happens to you, it's true stories, you get interviews from parents and things, it's like 'We didn't really know, we tried to help her.'"
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Respondents were asked how videos were implemented during class lessons. Their accounts suggested that videos were often used in a perfunctory and passive way. They recalled little discussion of the information and themes depicted in videos.
"They kind of show you the video without any like background information or like why you... ...and what other effects could be, how you can avoid them and stuff like that. They just kind of show you it."
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
Only in a minority of cases did teachers appear to use stop-start techniques to encourage pupils to reflect actively on what they were watching. This was particularly the case among respondents who attended School E. At this school, drug education is based on the 'What's the Score?' package, which has an emphasis on teacher-led class discussion and videos:
"We got, like, a video, but the teacher used to, one teacher used to stop it and say, 'Right, this is what…', kind of interacting with us as well."
Female, 17-18, School F, Secondary, Statutory
"We would have a discussion after and feedback."
Male, 17-18, School E, Secondary, Statutory
There was also a perception that videos were often used by teachers as a low-effort time-filler:
"It's easier for the teachers."
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
"And you knew that they'd only put the video on so that they could go away for a smoke, because they came back reeking of fags."
Male, 17-18, School F, Secondary, Statutory
Despite the low-involvement manner in which videos seemed sometimes to have been used, the amount of detail which respondents could recall from some videos suggested that nonetheless they were potentially capable of commanding attention and engaging pupils' interest.
"I think the video is the best thing I would say. They are always good to watch cause then it makes you think if you are watching."
Female, 17-18, School D, Secondary, Statutory
"It's better watching a video than having a class discussion. It is better to see it than talk about it."
Male, S3, School D, Secondary, Statutory
3.3.2 Talks
Respondents of different ages and from different schools also mentioned talks from outside agencies or visitors about drugs. Almost all remembered having a visit from a community police officer to talk about drugs at some point during their primary or secondary education:
"We just got a drug squad leader a couple of years ago. The police officer that covered drugs was our old police officer at primary school. He came in and he knew the drugs properly."
Male, 17-18, School C, Primary, Statutory
The nature and content of police visits varied but often seemed to have comprised an introductory talk providing background information about drugs (eg. outlining the different types of drugs, their effects, and the possible consequences of drug-use). Police often used mock drugs samples as a basis for discussions and distributed them among pupils to provide them with an insight into what they look like:
"They came in and they had samples of different, of illegal drugs, ecstasy, heroin and things and they just talked a bit about each one, what could happen to you if you actually take the drugs."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
"When the policeman came in, he came in with boxes of fake drugs, just to show you what they looked like. He was showing us like what they look like and the different types of names you can get for them"
Female, S3, School H, Secondary, Independent
"That was really the first experience we had actually seeing what these things were."
Male, 17-18, School C, Primary, Statutory
Respondents' accounts suggested that police-led sessions were fairly engaging. Primary school pupils in particular were able to describe the types of activities that they had undertaken during police visits. Some of these activities appeared to have been highly interactive, and possibly derived from The Police Box package:
"We done quite a lot of activities. Like he said you put yourself in groups and then you had to make a poster but he gave you a drug to explain, you had to have drug pictures and you had to explain the drug."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
"We put the drugs, in order of what's dangerous and what's not dangerous. But we never got it right, though."
Male, P7, School A, Primary, Statutory
Respondents also recalled talks about drugs from other outside experts. One group of sixth year boys who attended an independent school remembered having a talk from the father of Leah Betts in second year. They recalled that Mr Betts initially provided them with some factual information about drugs and their effects before going on to provide a first-hand account of Leah's story:
"He spoke to the entire school…I think he went from first to third year, then fourth".
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
"He went through all the different types of drugs beforehand, what they do and why people use them, why they're dangerous and then he went on to Leah afterwards."
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
In general, these sessions seemed to have been experienced by pupils as more interesting than classroom lessons. Pupils found them engaging and memorable, and generally enjoyed the novelty of having someone new in the class:
"He [local drugs worker] definitely had an impact on everyone that day."
Female, 19-20, School G, Primary & Secondary, Independent
"Yes, but the thing is like they made it kind of more interesting…it was short, more to the point and you get involved."
Female, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
"It was a different person. That was quite funny. It wasn't the teacher so that was good."
Female, P7, School F, Secondary, Statutory
3.3.3 Written work
Most respondents recalled undertaking some kind of written work as part of their drug education. Various different kinds of written tasks were described, the most common being workbooks. Recall of some workbook tasks was quite detailed:
"We had bubble diagrams and stuff and you wrote drugs down and you made it as colourful as you wanted and stuff and you just sat with all the different drugs and talked about them and stuff."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
"It's got pictures of drugs and then it has got a line and you have to name the drug"
Male, S3, School D, Secondary, Statutory
Even school leavers were able to describe these kinds of tasks in a fair amount of detail, suggesting that they had found them quite involving:
"When I was at primary school, they actually handed me out a book where, they gave me a book that said 'Drugs?', and a question mark on the front, and on the inside page it showed you a picture of every known drug, and at the top of the page it had the name and all the effects and all the names and everything it could be called."
Male, 17-18, School F, Secondary, Statutory
Respondents also recalled being asked to prepare anti-drugs posters and leaflets based on the information that they had been given about drugs. This kind of approach appeared to be more common during primary school and lower-middle secondary school, but was reasonably well remembered among older respondents: "In first and second year we did that sort of thing, like making leaflets". The materials that were produced by pupils were then often used as prompts for discussion.
Several respondents, particularly those attending a special educational needs school, recalled being tested on the information that they had been given about drugs - either through discussion or from a video - using questionnaires:
"First, we talked about what we actually knew about them… and from there we got questionnaires to see how much we actually knew about the actual drugs."
Male, S5-S6, School I, Secondary, Special Educational Needs
"The teacher reads it to us and then we have to put the answers in."
Female, S5-S6, School I, Secondary, Special Educational Needs
"Some sheets actually come with the videos. So you get questions asked about what you just saw."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Respondents generally found these tasks enjoyable and enjoyed the hands-on element of producing materials. Some felt that they potentially learnt more through this kind of approach because they had to memorise and reflect on the information that they had been given in order to produce the posters/leaflets:
"It is better than jotting down because you have to write everything down. On worksheets you just have to answer the questions."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
"Which was quite good because you learned stuff."
Male, 17-18, School H, Secondary, Independent
3.3.4 Drama
Several respondents remembered being visited by theatre companies who put on performances about drugs. The content and format of these productions varied but they appeared usually to be intended to portray the pressures to get involved with drugs and the negative consequences of doing so.
"It was like they are friends and they were putting on a play about drugs and then you saw the friend die and he had to put the play on without him. It was like, 'oh no!'"
Female 19-20, School E, Secondary, Statutory
These plays were perceived to be of variable quality, but generally well liked. One group of females did not enjoy one particular theatre production, but this was largely because they found the format of the play, in which one actor played several characters, confusing:
"He was doing all these characters and females as well and it just wasn't making sense. He'd be someone then he'd be talking again…"
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
However, towards the end of this visit, the actor participated in a question and answer session, during which pupils were invited to ask questions which he would answer in character. Respondents found this part of the session more enjoyable, perhaps because it was more involving and helped them to clarify their own understanding of the play:
"I think he came out on stage and just sat down at the end and said, 'Right, you can just ask me questions and I'll answer in character', so we were asking him stuff like 'Does he want to stop taking drugs?'… thought that was quite good."
Female, S4, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Other respondents recalled participating in drama within the class:
"Then we did a wee play, like get put into threes and we had to do a wee topic ourselves, you know, do a wee play on it and then we rehearsed it and we just did a wee thing about drugs."
Female, S5-S6, School I, Secondary, Special Educational Needs
Again, these more interactive and involving activities appeared to be interesting to respondents, and relatively well liked, although they did not appear to have been used very frequently.
3.3.5 Class discussions
Most respondents recalled participating in class discussions about drugs, although these were generally described in the context of a specific task such as explaining to other pupils about the anti-drug poster that they had prepared rather than on wide-ranging themes:
"We held up the poster and somebody had to go and explain it and the others had to guess what it was you were talking about."
Female, P7, School C, Primary, Statutory
A few older respondents remember taking part in smaller group discussions about drugs that then fed into a bigger class discussion:
"I think the discussions were good. People at the end of it had to feedback to the class."
Male, 17-18, School E, Secondary, Statutory
Generally, respondents gave the impression that their drug lessons were not particularly discursive or interactive, and that their teachers did not usually give them much of an opportunity to ask questions. They were particularly disappointed by the lack of discussion around videos, which they often found thought-provoking.
3.3.6 Other methods
Younger respondents recalled participating in games and quizzes about drugs (eg. "crosswords", "puzzles", "snakes and ladders"). Sometimes these were led by their teacher and at other times they formed part of more interactive sessions delivered by visitors, such as the police. One group of boys recalled a visit they received from a local drugs worker asked them to take part in, what they referred to as the " D-RUG" game. However, their recall of what they were actually given to do as part of this game was fairly limited.
Those who had participated in games said that they enjoyed these kinds of activities, and recounted them enthusiastically:
"Oh, yes. We get quizzes for drugs. We get a quiz, where you have to list all the drugs, and there's this question bit, and it gives you a sentence and you have to fill it in. To see if you've learned anything that she's told you."
Male, P5-P7, School A, Primary, Statutory
"They ask you questions about drugs and if you get it right you get to roll the dice."
Male, P7, School B, Primary, Statutory
Respondents also mentioned the use of visual prompts to demonstrate the effects of smoking (eg. a carbon monoxide detector, a 3D model of a smoker's lung) and drinking (eg. goggles that create the illusion of being drunk). These methods were not that common, but where they were used, pupils were fascinated by them and appreciated the shock and novelty factor.
« Previous | Contents | Next »