On Re-Tooling the Teachers: An Evaluation of Teacher Training in Alcohol Education

The effectiveness of a training workshop for teachers who were subsequently to implement an alcohol education curriculum for grades K-12 was evaluated by comparing teachers who had completed the workshops with control teachers who had not yet experienced the workshop training. Questionnaire instruments were developed to reflect the specific objectives of the workshops. The workshops successfully increased teachers' (1) knowledge about alcohol and alcoholism, community alcoholism treatment resources, and materials of the new curriculum; (2) understanding of discussion-leading techniques; and (3) some aspects of coping skills. The workshops were mostly unsuccessful in changing several components of teacher attitudes about the use of alcohol. Implications for teacher training and alcohol education were discussed.