Engaging Parents in School Drug Education Programmes

Description of tool:
This tool discusses the importance of partnerships with the wider community, and
especially with parents, to reinforce and expand the reach of school-based efforts to
prevent drug use by students. It suggests ways that the school can support parents in
their role as primary educators for their children, and involve them in efforts to reduce
drug use by young people and the associated harm to individuals and society.

The information in this tool was adapted by UNESCO from the following publication:

United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODC), 2003.
School-based Drug Education: A guide for practitioners and the wider
community. Vienna: UNODC.
http://www.unicef.org/lifeskills/files/School-basedDrugEducation03.doc
Description of document:
This manual aims to provide a conceptual basis upon which teachers, policy makers
and school administrators can make decisions about the design and delivery of
effective school-based drug prevention programmes. In addition to providing guidance
on the principles behind effective drug education and practical information about
planning, content, teaching methods and evaluation for school drug education
programmes, the manual includes sections on managing drug related incidents,
counselling and referral for students, and strategies for involving families and the
community in drug prevention efforts.

This information or activity supports Core

Component #3 of the FRESH framework
for effective school health: skills-based
health education. It will have a greater
impact if it is reinforced by activities in the
other three components of the framework.

FRESH Tools for Effective School Health First Edition

http://www.unesco.org/education/fresh
FRESH Tools for Effective School Health First Edition
http://www.unesco.org/education/fresh

Engaging Parents in School Drug Education Programmes1

Introduction

Schools share responsibility for the education and welfare of young people with families and
the wider community. The role of parents as primary educators can be recognized and
supported by schools by working in partnership with parents. Partnerships with parents and
the community help to generate a greater awareness of health issues among students and
their families, ensure the integration of consistent and relevant health messages into the
home and other community settings, and ultimately, improve student health.

Drug education programmes that are planned and implemented in consultation with parents
are not only more successful, but also empower parents. Parents often have difficulty
discussing drug issues with their children, yet parents are often cited by young people as the
most trusted and the preferred source of information about health issues.

Schools can assist parents by providing them with information about health and drug issues
as part of their whole school approach. Schools working in partnership with parents can
reduce some of the anxiety parents experience from the expectation that drug education is
their sole responsibility. Outreach to parents can help them develop the knowledge and skills
they need to initiate and carry out informed discussion with their children.

Family protective factors

The family can play a role in preventing drug use among its members by addressing
family-related protective factors, such as:

 adequate parent/child communication;

 solid affectionate relations;
 a fair distribution of responsibility among family members;
 good relationships between siblings; and
 non-use of social or illegal drugs.

I. The role of parents in drug prevention

Parents can have a significant influence on the choices their children make with regard to
drugs by modelling responsible behaviours concerning drug use, establishing clear family
rules, becoming more aware of youth culture, recognizing early signs of drug use, and
maintaining communication within the family and with other parents and the school. In
addition, parents can help to develop, promote and enforce drug policies at the school and
community level, and they play an important role in managing drug incidents in schools.

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Parents are also important because the family is the primary environment in which
socialization occurs, and because parental opinion can either reinforce or countermand the
messages of drug education programmes. In addition, parents’ opinions contribute to
community norms about substance use and community support for drug education.

Parents and guardians have a need and a right to know when their children are misusing
substances. When a mutually supportive relationship exists between the school and the
home, it is more likely that incidents of student drug abuse can be handled in a way that
protects the whole school community and seeks the rehabilitation and reintegration of
offenders.

II. Aims of parent programmes

Parent programmes could try to:

 give parents a clear understanding of drug use patterns among school age persons;
 give parents an understanding of the factors that contribute to drug use;
 assist parents to form a personal perspective on alcohol and drugs based on factual
information and to clarify their attitudes and beliefs around alcohol and drug use; and
 outline effective strategies for parents to use to prevent and cope with drug use by their
children.

III. Informing parents

Parents and community members need to know that the school:

 is a completely smoke free environment;

 teaches students and staff how to safely dispose of needles, syringes and sharps bins;
 advocates the safe and responsible use of medicines;
 prohibits the use or possession of alcohol, tobacco or illicit drugs at school;
 will take action when information about drug use or possession at school is disclosed;
 has procedures for managing drug-related incidents; and
 provides referral and/or counselling for students with drug problems.

IV. Involving parents

To involve parents, and the community, schools can:

 design pamphlets that answer commonly asked questions;

 provide families with access to advice and recommend support agencies for assistance
with drug-related issues;
 publicize the school support system and its availability for members of the school
community who may be experiencing drug problems;
 ensure a school environment that encourages any student experiencing drug-related
problems to seek help;

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 offer parents drug information sessions that are accessible to a range of cultural
backgrounds and sensitive to differing ability levels;
 suggest strategies for parents to assist in the prevention of drug use problems, for
example by:
 modelling responsible use of drugs;
 discussing the topic of drug use with children;
 setting clear family rules about drug use;
 teaching children first aid skills;
 providing them with a summary of current research that indicates the importance of
parental influence on young people and their drug use behaviour; and
 encourage parents to develop an authoritative, warm and supportive style of parenting,
to express negative attitudes about teenage drug use, to keep in touch with other
parents to establish consistent expectations, and to keep up to date on drug-related
issues.

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Adapted from: United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, 2003. School-based Drug Education: A
guide for practitioners and the wider community. Vienna: UNODC.