Implementing Evidence-Based Substance Use Prevention Curricula with Fidelity: The Role of Teacher Training

Abstract

It is widely recognized that teacher training affects the fidelity with which evidence-based substance use prevention curricula are implemented. We present the results of a 2005 survey of teachers from a nationally representative sample of 1721 public middle schools in the U.S. (78.1% response rate). We measured fidelity along two dimensions (adherence and dose) and also assessed the number of hours, recency, and perceived effectiveness of teachers' training, as well as the degree to which adherence was emphasized during training. Among teachers using evidence-based curricula, 35.3% reported following their curriculum guide very closely. The average proportion of lessons taught was 64.9%, and only 30.2% of teachers taught all the lessons in their curriculum. Analyses revealed that teachers whose training emphasized adherence were 5 times as likely to be more adherent. We present recommendations for training-related factors that may increase fidelity of implementation.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abbott

R. D.

O'Donnell

Hawkins

J. D.

Hill

K. G.

Kosterman

Catalano

R. F.

(1998). Changing teaching practices to promote achievement and bonding to school. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68(4), 542–552.

Allison

P. D.

(1999). Logistic regression using the SAS system: Theory and application. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.

Anderson

Aromaa

Rosenbloom

(2007). Prevention education in America's schools: Findings and recommendations from a survey of educators. Retrieved November 21, 2007, from http://www.jointogether.org/resources/2007/prevention-education-in.html

Basen-Engquist

O'Hara-Tompkins

Lovato

C. Y.

Lewis

M. J.

Parcel

G. S.

Gingiss

(1994). The effect of two types of teacher training on implementation of Smart Choices: A tobacco prevention curriculum. Journal of School Health, 64(8), 334–339.

Botvin

G. J.

Baker

Dusenbury

Tortu

(1990). Preventing adolescent drug abuse through a multimodal cognitive-behavioral approach: Results of a 3-year study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 437–446.

Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. (2004). Blueprints for Violence Prevention overview. Retrieved June 4, 2004, from http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/model/criteria.html

Connell

D. B.

Turner

R. R.

Mason

E. F.

(1985). Summary of findings of the School Health Education Evaluation: Health promotion effectiveness, implementation, and costs. Journal of School Health, 55(8), 316–321.

Dane

A. V.

Schneider

B. H.

(1998). Program integrity in primary and early secondary prevention: Are implementation effects out of control? Clinical Psychology Review, 18(1), 23–45.

Drug Strategies Inc. (1996). Making the grade: A guide to school drug prevention programs. Washington, D.C.: Drug Strategies, Inc.

10.

Dusenbury

Brannigan

Falco

Hansen

W. B.

(2003). A review of research on fidelity of implementation: Implications for drug abuse prevention in school settings. Health Education Research, 18(2), 237–256.

11.

Dusenbury

Brannigan

Falco

Lake

(2004). An exploration of fidelity of implementation in drug abuse prevention among five professional groups. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 47(3), 4–19.

12.

Dusenbury

Falco

(1995). Eleven components of effective drug abuse prevention curricula. Journal of School Health, 65(10), 420.

13.

Dusenbury

L. A.

Hansen

W. B.

Giles

S. M.

(2003). Teacher training in norm setting approaches to drug education: A pilot study comparing standard and video-enhanced methods. Journal of Drug Education, 33(3), 325–336.

14.

Elliott

D. S.

Mihalic

(2004). Issues in disseminating and replicating effective prevention programs. Prevention Science, 5(1), 47–53.

15.

Ennett

S. T.

Ringwalt

C. L.

Thorne

Rohrbach

L. A.

Vincus

Simons-Rudolph

(2003). A comparison of current practice in school-based substance use prevention programs with meta-analysis findings. Prevention Science, 4(1), 1–14.

16.

ETR Associates (2008). California keepin' it REAL project. Retrieved May 15, 2008, from http://www.etr.org/kirealeducators/aboutProject.htm

17.

Farel

A. M.

Pfau

S. E.

Paliulis

S. C.

Umble

K. E.

(2003). Online analytic and technical training. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 9(6), 513.

18.

Jones

D. J.

Bowler

(1997). The link between a participant's perceptions of training and subsequent levels of application. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 42(2), 53–68.

19.

Jones

S. M.

Sutton

B. C.

Boyle

K. E.

(2002). Survey methodology for studying substance use prevention programs in schools. In Chaubey

Y. P.

(Ed.), Recent Advances in Statistical Methods. Proceedings of Statistics 2001 Canada. The 4th Conference in Applied Statistics (pp. 157–168). London: Imperial College Press.

20.

King

K. A.

Wagner

D. I.

Hedrick

(2001). Safe and drug-free school coordinators' perceived needs to improve violence and drug prevention programs. Journal of School Health, 71(6), 236–241.

21.

Levenson-Gingiss

Hamilton

(1989). Determinants of teachers' plans to continue teaching a sexuality education course. Family & Community Health, 12(3), 40–53.

22.

McCormick

L. K.

Steckler

A. B.

McLeroy

K. R.

(1995). Diffusion of innovations in schools: A study of adoption and implementation of school-based tobacco prevention curricula. American Journal of Health Promotion, 9(3), 210–219.

23.

Monitoring the Future (2007a). Trends in annual prevalence of use of various drugs for eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/07data/pr07t2.pdf

24.

Monitoring the Future (2007b). Trends in lifetime prevalence of use of various drugs for eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/07data/pr07t1.pdf

25.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). Common Core of Data: Public elementary/secondary school universe survey data, 2002–03. Retrieved August 15, 2004, from http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubschuniv.asp

26.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2003). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents: A research-based guide (2nd ed.) (No. 04-4212(B)). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

27.

National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). (2004). SAMHSA model programs. Retrieved June 4, 2004, from http://modelprograms.samhsa.gov

28.

Pankratz

Jackson-Newsom

Giles

Ringwalt

Bliss

Bell

(2006). Implementation fidelity in a teacher-led alcohol use prevention curriculum. Journal of Drug Education, 36(4), 317–333.

29.

Parcel

G. S.

Ross

J. G.

Lavin

A. T.

Portnoy

Nelson

G. D.

Winters

(1991). Enhancing implementation of the Teenage Health Teaching Modules. Journal of School Health, 61(1), 35–38.

30.

Perry

C. L.

Murray

D. M.

Griffin

(1990). Evaluating the statewide dissemination of smoking prevention curricula: Factors in teacher compliance. Journal of School Health, 60(10), 501–504.

31.

Pope

Vincus

Hanley

(2007). Using a multi-mode design to maintain response rates. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Association of Public Opinion Research, Anaheim, CA.

32.

Quality Education Data Inc. (1998). QED national education database. [database].

33.

Renes

Ringwalt

Clark

Hanley

(2007). Great minds don't always think alike: The challenges of conducting substance abuse prevention research in public schools. Journal of Drug Education, 37(2), 97–105.

34.

Ringwalt

C. L.

Ennett

Johnson

Rohrbach

L. A.

Simons-Rudolph

Vincus

(2003). Factors associated with fidelity to substance use prevention curriculum guides in the nation's middle schools. Health Education & Behavior, 30(3), 375–391.

35.

Ringwalt

C. L.

Ennett

Vincus

Thorne

Rohrbach

L. A.

Simons-Rudolph

(2002). The prevalence of effective substance use prevention curricula in U.S. middle schools. Prevention Science, 3(4), 257–265.

36.

Ringwalt

C. L.

Vincus

Ennett

Johnson

Rohrbach

L. A.

(2004). Reasons for teachers' adaptation of substance use prevention curricula in schools with non-White student populations. Prevention Science, 5(1), 61–67.

37.

Rogers

E. M.

(2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Free Press.

38.

Rohrbach

Dent

Skara

Sun

Sussman

(2007). Fidelity of implementation in Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND): A comparison of classroom teachers and program specialists. Prevention Science, 8(2), 125–132.

39.

Rohrbach

L. A.

Graham

J. W.

Hansen

W. B.

(1993). Diffusion of a school-based substance abuse prevention program: Predictors of program implementation. Preventive Medicine, 22(2), 237–260.

40.

Romano

J. L.

(1996). School personnel prevention training: A measure of self-efficacy. Journal of Educational Research, 90(1), 57–63.

41.

SAS Institute Inc. (2004). SAS/STAT 9.1 User's Guide. Retrieved June 27, 2008, from http://support.sas.com/documentation/onlinedoc/91pdf/sasdoc_91/stat_ug_7313.pdf

42.

St. Pierre

T. L.

Osgood

D. W.

Siennick

S. E.

Kauh

T. J.

Burden

F. F.

(2007). Project ALERT with outside leaders: What leader characteristics are important for success? Prevention Science, 8(1), 51–64.

43.

Stead

Stradling

MacNeil

MacKintosh

A. M.

Minty

(2007). Implementation evaluation of the Blueprint multi-component drug prevention programme: Fidelity of school component delivery. Drug & Alcohol Review, 26(6), 653–664.

44.

Tobler

N. S.

Roona

M. R.

Ochshorn

Marshall

D. G.

Streke

A. V.

Stackpole

K. M.

(2000). School-based adolescent drug prevention programs: 1998 meta-analysis. Journal of Primary Prevention, 20(4), 275–336.

45.

Tortu

Botvin

G. J.

(1989). School-based smoking prevention: The teacher training process. Preventive Medicine, 18(2), 280–289.

46.

U.S. Department of Education. (2002). Exemplary and promising safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools programs 2001. Retrieved June 4, 2004, from http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/exemplary01/exemplary01.pdf

47.

Wagner

E. F.

Tubman

J. G.

Gil

A. G.

(2004). Implementing school-based substance abuse interventions: Methodological dilemmas and recommended solutions. Addiction, 99, 106–119.