Drug education in a Windhoek secondary school
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Date
1995
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Abstract
The majority of the respondents displayed an attitude of acceptance towards the use of drugs as they were of the opinion that drugs can help people to relax (82. 1) and stop worrying (80, 4). However, the school learners also identified some consequences on negative drug abuse, such as feeling sick (74, 1) and becoming aggressive (66, 1)
Social factors identified by the Grade 8 learners which can lead to the use of drugs are parents abusing drugs themselves, peer group pressure and unhappy circumstances at home. Amongst the respondents alcohol is the most frequently used drug (38, 5). Alcohol is followed by tobacco (13, 5) in the second place. Inhalants (2, 7) follow in the third place, then dagga (1, 8) in the fourth place and finally traditional brews and hard drugs (0, 9) in the fifth place. The mentioned pattern of drug use amongst school learners in Namibia is indicative of a growing social problem amongst the school learners. The respondents indicated that they receive education on drugs at school as well as from community sources such as parents and friends. However, friends are not a good source of information because they themselves are ill-informed about drugs as was found in the study
The parents and teachers agreed that drug prevention education must be included into school curricula. However, some teachers could not find ways to include drug prevention education into the existing school curricula. The parents indicated their willingness to become involved in drug prevention programmes for their children suggesting that they themselves, school learners and teachers must all be involved in the planning of drug prevention programmes
Finally, the importance for the Ministry of Basic Education and Culture, to embark on research regarding the integration of drug prevention education into the curricula of the different school subjects were requested by parents and teachers