TY - JOUR

T1 - Perceptions of school-based alcohol education by educational and health stakeholders

T2 - "Education as usual" compared to a randomised controlled trial

AU - McKay, Michael

AU - Sumnall, Harry

AU - Harvey, Séamus

AU - Cole, Jon C.

PY - 2017/1/25

Y1 - 2017/1/25

N2 - The present study sought the views of stakeholders, including school leaders and statutory stakeholders, on the content and evaluation of a classroom-based alcohol education intervention in a Randomised Controlled Trial in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Purposive sampling was used to ensure that schools from both the Intervention and Control groups were equally represented, and to ensure that similar numbers and grades of stakeholders in both countries were represented. A total of 27 participants (Male = 13 (48%); Female = 14 (52%)) engaged in a semi-structured interview prior to the end of the trial. Results suggest that: schools generally design their own alcohol education programmes; that intervention schools thought highly of the particular intervention tested; and that both groups engaged meaningfully in the research. The threshold for acceptance of the intervention was lower than the successful outcome of the trial. More pragmatic considerations were considered equally important. From the point of view of the statutory stakeholders, funding of an intervention depends on a successful outcome evaluation, but that “success” may mean a positive impact on at-risk groups, and not necessarily at a universal level. School-based participants also focussed on ease of delivery and user friendliness as key determinants of programme utilisation.

AB - The present study sought the views of stakeholders, including school leaders and statutory stakeholders, on the content and evaluation of a classroom-based alcohol education intervention in a Randomised Controlled Trial in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Purposive sampling was used to ensure that schools from both the Intervention and Control groups were equally represented, and to ensure that similar numbers and grades of stakeholders in both countries were represented. A total of 27 participants (Male = 13 (48%); Female = 14 (52%)) engaged in a semi-structured interview prior to the end of the trial. Results suggest that: schools generally design their own alcohol education programmes; that intervention schools thought highly of the particular intervention tested; and that both groups engaged meaningfully in the research. The threshold for acceptance of the intervention was lower than the successful outcome of the trial. More pragmatic considerations were considered equally important. From the point of view of the statutory stakeholders, funding of an intervention depends on a successful outcome evaluation, but that “success” may mean a positive impact on at-risk groups, and not necessarily at a universal level. School-based participants also focussed on ease of delivery and user friendliness as key determinants of programme utilisation.

KW - School context

KW - Alcohol

KW - Stakeholders

KW - Randomised controlled trial

U2 - 10.1080/09687637.2016.1273316

DO - 10.1080/09687637.2016.1273316

M3 - Article

VL - 25

SP - 77

EP - 87

JO - Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

JF - Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy

SN - 0968-7637

IS - 1

ER -