| Education Week Report Roundups |
Alcohol Education Students who receive instruction on how alcohol can affect their physical and cognitive development are more likely to display increased vehicle-safety skills and have a better understanding of their own personal development, according to two recent studies.
The four-year studies surveyed students who participated in Protecting You/Protecting Me-an elementary-level alcohol- prevention curriculum introduced by Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 1998-to test their knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions before and after the program.
According to the studies, the teacher- and student-led programs improved student knowledge about brain functions up to four times more than for students who did not go through the program. The program also increases student awareness of the law, stress management, and decision-making skills and "nonuse" attitudes related to underage drinking. Protecting You/Protecting Me has reached nearly 88,000 elementary school pupils.
-Marianne D. Hurst |
