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E.D. TAB: Teacher Survey on Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free Schools
NCES: 91091
November 1991

Highlights

E.D. TAB: Teacher Survey on Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free Schools

  • Student alcohol use was considered a serious or moderate problem by 23 percent of teachers. Four percent of elementary school teachers and 54 percent of secondary school teachers thought student alcohol use was a serious or moderate problem at their school (Table 2).
     
  • Student drug use was considered a serious or moderate problem by 17 percent of teachers. Five percent of elementary school teachers and 38 percent of secondary school teachers thought student drug use was a serious or moderate problem at their school (Table 2).
     
  • Over 90 percent of teachers whose schools have written policies described their general discipline policies and their alcohol, drug, and tobacco policies as comprehensive and clear (Table 3). About 70 percent said their school's general discipline policy was consistently applied, and about 90 percent found their alcohol and drug policies consistently applied.
     
  • Prevention programs and policies for both school alcohol use and drug use were considered not very or not at all effective in reducing student alcohol and drug use, according to about 5 percent of elementary school teachers and between 24 and 30 percent of secondary school teachers (Table 5).
     
  • About half of the teachers received inservice training during the 1990-91 school year regarding both their school's general discipline programs and policies and their school's drug use prevention programs and policies (Tables 6 and 7). Across all teachers, an average of approximately 2.5 hours of inservice training was received on these topics by all teachers.
     
  • Given a list of components included in training on drug use prevention programs and policies, over half of the teachers whose training had included the components selected the following as one of the three most effective: causes and effects of alcohol, drug, or tobacco use; identifying signs of alcohol, drugs, or tobacco use; intervention techniques for their use with students suspected of alcohol, drug, or tobacco use; and availability of school services and other services for students using alcohol, drugs, or tobacco (Table 8).
     
  • Almost 50 percent of teachers-both at elementary and secondary schools--indicated that a lack of or inadequate alternative placements/programs for disruptive students limited to a great or moderate extent their ability to maintain order and discipline in their school (Table 10). Likelihood of complaints from parents and lack of support from administration also limited their ability for about 30 percent of teachers.
     
  • Student alcohol and drug use interfered with teaching to a great or moderate extent for 1 to 2 percent of elementary school teachers and 9 to 11 percent of secondary school teachers; about 35 percent of both elementary and secondary teachers indicated that student disruptive behavior interfered with teaching (Table 10).
     
  • Nineteen percent of teachers reported verbal abuse by a student in their school during the last 4 weeks, 8 percent have been threatened with injury in the last 12 months, and 2 percent have been physically attacked in the last 12 months (Table 11).
     
  • Nearly all teachers indicated that they feel safe or moderately safe in the school building during school hours (99 percent), and at least 90 percent feel safe after school hours, on school grounds, or in the neighborhood of the school (Table 14).


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