Importance of Building and Maintaining Trust in Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Education Classrooms and Hurdles to Open Communications

• NCJ Number: 220490
• Journal: Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2007 Pages: 27-56
• Author(s): Aram deKoven Ph.D.
• Date Published: September 2007
• Length: 30 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This research examined the importance of trust and the kinds of trust needed to make the classroom a more effective place for learning.

Abstract

The results indicates that trust between an alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) educator and a student is an important factor, as is trust between a student and his or her peers in the ATOD classroom. Although teachers have a great potential to positively impact the lives of students and are viewed as credible sources for information about ATOD, they are considered risky people to talk to about drugs and alcohol because of their potential ability to stymie a student’s progress through school. Teachers are perceived as unreliable with regard to keeping questions asked by the students confidential because of the mandated reporting laws that require teachers to share certain types of information. This makes teachers an unlikely source of information for certain types of information because in students’ minds their questions are not secure with their teachers. The implications for educators are that ATOD educators need to build into their curricula opportunities to make connections with youth that foster trust and openness; teachers should discuss with youth beforehand the specifics about mandated reporting. By telling students what things they can and cannot keep confidential, the student might feel confident talking to teachers about sensitive topics. Creating opportunities for youth to meet individually with their ATOD educators not only would build the trust between the two, but also allow students to ask questions without fearing that others in the room will think that the questioner is using or is planning on using drugs. Teachers should also provide anonymous ways for students to ask questions in class. Surveys were administered to all students in sixth through eighth grade in seven northeast schools in rural settings. In-depth interviews were conducted with 38 middle school students and those transcripts provided the data for analysis. Tables, figure captions, references, appendix