Train-the-Educator: Boosting Knowledge and Confidence for Conducting Substance Use Prevention Education

Background

School-based substance use prevention is important, yet many educators are not trained in the curriculums. The purpose of this study was to assess changes in educators' knowledge about substances and confidence in delivering drug education before and after participating in educator trainings, as well as overall perceptions of the trainings, for three curriculums: tobacco, cannabis, and all drugs prevention.

Methods

We conducted one-arm pre–post analyses evaluating educators' changes in knowledge about products and confidence to deliver curriculums. A total of 1064, 648, and 171 educators participated in the trainings and completed surveys (June 2021–November 2023) about drug knowledge (closed-ended, three items for tobacco, five for cannabis), confidence to deliver curriculums (Likert, four items for all trainings), and perceptions of the trainings (open-ended, four items for all trainings). Paired-sample t-tests and McNemar tests of paired proportions were conducted for the matched sample. Two coders double-coded open-ended responses to identify key themes.

Results

The training for tobacco was associated with pre–post improvements on all knowledge questions (p's ≤ 0.001). Trainings for all three curriculums were associated with pre–post improvements for all confidence questions (p's < 0.007). Participants qualitatively reported wanting longer trainings with more in-depth content and navigation of materials.

Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity

Our findings suggest that trainings are a promising method that may improve the knowledge and confidence of educators who deliver drug education curriculums.

Conclusions

Educator trainings will likely benefit from detailed content on various substances, interactive activities, and show educators how to tailor curriculums based on their students' specific needs.