1 What is the prevalence of SA among Canadian Children & Adolescents?

2. How can we build assets and strengths within youth and families to prevent SA?

3. Are there specific practical knowledge, behaviours, normative beliefs, attitudes skills, conditions, determinants social influences, emerging influences that are more important?

4. What do various behavioral theories tell us about SA prevention? (resilience, stages of chnage, social attachment etc)

5. Are there specific populations of youth that are more at risk of SA? How can we better understand their needs (eg aboriginal youth, sexually abused and neglected youth, LGBT youth,

1. What aspects of the social environment in the school are more influential on youth behaviours, attitudes/beliefs about substance use?

2. What aspects of the physical environment in and around the school are more influential on youth behaviours, attitudes/beliefs about substance use?

3. Are there common school practices and methods of school organization that have a greater impact on substance use?
(procedures to recognize student achievement, student assessment and evaluation/promotion/retention practices, use of home room or student advisors, age/grade organization such as middle school,etc)

4. How can we better manage transitions to reduce risks for students (primary to secondary, moving to a new neighbourhood/transient families, secondary to work/college, etc)

5. How can we plan prevention programs to better fit with child and adolescent development and stages over the life course?

1. What are the prominent models and authoritative statements of multi-intervention and effective approaches and programs in school SAP? (See right hand side of this page)

Note: Also see Indigenous School Health Framework on cultural relevance and LGBT Youth Bibliography

2. What are the examples of effective Comprehensive Approaches and programs (Multi-issue, not only SA, multi-level, multi-agency)?

3. What are the examples of effective of Coordinated Agency-School Programs (agency and schools working on SAP only)?

4. What are the examples of effective of Whole School (Educator only) Strategies on SA?

1. What are effective practices and good examples of Ministry, Agency, School Policy Interventions?

2. What are effective practices and good examples of Curriculum & Instruction in SAP? (cuuriculum design, lesson plans/learning activities,

3. What are effective practices and good examples of Addictions Services delivered in or linked with schools?

4. What are effective practices and good examples of Social Support Interventions?

5. What are effective practices and good examples of modifications to Physical Environment & practical Resources such as transportation routes to school??

1 Are there good examples of Evidence-based, Practical & Strategic Implementation Planning in school SAP?

2 What do we know about Diffusion of Successful SAP Programs?

3 How can we build baseline Capacity and use a Capacity Building approach in SAP?

4. What do we mean and how do we achieve sustainability in school SAP?

5. What consideration of system characteristics and methods of systems change can we use in school SAP?

1 Cultural, Linguistic & Faith Communities

2 Aboriginal/ Indigenous Communities

3 Rural Communities

4 Disadvantaged Communities

5 Affluent Communities

1 Consideration of Primary Roles, Functions of Schooling

2 Consideration of Professional Norms & Ideologies of educators

3 Consideration of social, economic & political constraints on schools re SAP

1 Are there published and prominent Knowledge & Research Agendas in school SAP?

2. Is there research research Connecting SA & SAP to Learning

3 Cost-effectiveness & cost benefit studies in school SAP

4 Use of multiple research methods in school SAP

5 Methodological, Measurement & Technical Issues in SAP Research

• Address protective and risk factors and promote resiliency
• Account for the implications of adolescent psychosocial development
• Recognize and address youth perceptions/beliefs about substance use
• Develop credible, factual, non-judgmental messages
• Combine knowledge about drugs and life/social skills development
• Involve youth in program design and implementation
• Seek comprehensiveness in delivering multiple programs in a coordinated manner
• Ensure adequate program duration and intensity
• Base program selection or development on accurate information about youth use of substances
• Set clear and realistic goals for knowledge, skills and behavioural outcomes
• Use interactive group processes such as role p[laying, discussions, student journals
• Give attention to teacher or leader qualities and training
• Monitor and evaluate the programs selected or developed
• Address Sustainability from the Beginning

• Base programs on analysis of adolescent use data
• Understand protective and risk factors
  
• elementary and middle schools should implement universal programs helping all student make social adjustments to school and become aware of harms associated with substance abuse
• middle schools should implement targeted programs to identify and assist students who are abusing substances
• senior high schools should continue these universal and targeted programs but also include services and programs for students who are experiencing harm from the abuse of substances
• instructional programs on substances should address social influences, build life or social skills, use a variety of teaching/learning methods including interactive methods using constructivist/ project-based learning models and offer non-judgmental, fact-based information within a K-12 health/personal-social development curriculum
  
• school-linked parent information, involvement, education and support programs should be offered
• programs for aboriginal students should use a bi-cultural competence approach delivered in cooperation with community leaders, professionals and elders
• brief counseling interventions should be used with students who are at higher risk of abusing substances
• schools should strive towards a comprehensive approach that links substance use with positive youth development and asset building and delivers multiple interventions supported at multiple levels through education, health, addictions, law enforcement and other systems
• school boards, other agencies and ministries should develop policies on how they will work together in school SA prevention as well as on specific topics such as alternatives to school suspensions, search & seizure procedures and more
• safety in, around on the way to schools should be ensured through procedures and programs offered with police and other agencies
  
• school programs should be linked to a variety of social support programs including after school programs, parent programs, youth service and leadership programs, awareness programs offered by community organizations and more.
• schools and other systems should pay considerable attention to the implementation process at the system, school and classroom level
• teachers, counselors and school psychologists should receive pre-service and in-service education and training related to substance abuse; other professionals should receive training on how to work with schools
  
• Educators and others working with aboriginal students should be culturally competent

• understand how emerging understandings about ecological, systems-based approaches to school health promotion can be applied to SA prevention
• understand the prevalence of substance use and abuse among youth as well as social influences (media, parents, peers etc) and social determinants such as gender, race, socioeconomic status etc)
  
• understand specific aspects of substance use, including specific assets such as attachments to parents, specific drugs/problems such as inhalants or crystal meth and specific behaviours such as binge drinking and driving while impaired
• understand how various behaviour theories (eg social learning, attachment, stages of change, resilience etc) help to explain the problem and potential solutions
• understand the influence of the social and physical environment as well as the core practices of the school such as age/grade groupings, transitions between levels of schooling or between schools,
• understand how different stages of child and adolescent development as well as life events will affect substance use over the life course
• strive to develop a comprehensive approach that links substance use with similar health/social behaviours in a multi-system, multi-level set of policies and programs. Also support and deliver multi-intervention approaches in coordinated agency-school programs and whole school (educator only) strategies
• examine the research on the effectiveness of various programs and combinations of programs on the building of specific assets or preventing specific problems relevant to your school/neighbourhood
• select or develop programs based on research evidence
• develop an implementation plan using research-based and experience-tested implementation models and frameworks that draw from diffusion, organizational development, leadership/management and staff development theories and models
  
• develop, implement and monitor comprehensive and specific ministry, agency, school board policies and school-professional procedures
• develop age appropriate curriculum resource units on substance abuse within a comprehensive health/personal-social development curriculum. Implement those designated learning outcomes through well designed instructional programs based on modern learning theories, using a variety of direct and inter-active teaching/learning methods, encouraging parental involvement in take home learning activities, making effective use of the Internet, cooperating with peer and former addict led educational presentations and ongoing teacher education and development
• deliver a variety of school-based and school-linked health and addiction services including early identification and referrals, student and staff assistance programs, coordinated case management, individualized education programs for incarcerated or recovering students, and with clearly defined roles, training and staffing ratios for public health nurses, police officers, social workers, school psychologists, school principals and addictions workers
• increase student attachment to parents, trusted adults and positive peers by delivering a variety of social support programs such as parent education and involvement programs, mentoring programs, peer helper programs, student leadership programs/ activities, special school activities, participation in community-based awareness campaigns, working with the local and social media and staff wellness programs
• ensuring the physical safety of school facilities, grounds and transportation routes to school as well as appropriate use of specialized security measures
• consider how professional, school, school board, agency and ministry capacities will be built gradually as programs are selected and implemented in area such as coordinated poli8cy, assigning coordinators at all levels, informal and formal mechanisms for cooperation, ongoing knowledge exchange and workforce development, regular monitoring and reporting, strategic management of emerging and priority issues and explicit planning for sustainability
  
• consider how the specific characteristics of multiple, open, loosely-coupled, professional bureaucracies such as adopter concerns, middle mangers, non-rational decision-making can be acted upon in your planning and implementation process
• consider how local community contexts such as religious communities, economically disadvantaged communities, multi-ethnic communities, affluent communities, aboriginal communities and isolated communities will affect the capacity, choice and implementation of your programs
• consider how the educational and other core mandates as well as the constraints of the school system will affect your programs (eg stigma about drug use, competition with academics, parental privacy concerns and more)
• be prepared tom use new research and evaluation methods to assess your progress rather than just using expensive before and after controlled trials

• identify the substances being used by youth, the factors that make that use harmful and levels of substance use and abuse among youth today
• investigate why substance abuse is related to educational outcomes, why schools cannot solve this problem on their own, why and how to build school-family and community partnerships
• interpret and adapt good practices to your situation including a partnership approach, capacity-building in families, communities and schools, making good use of community resources, investing in effective ongoing communications and checking regularly with stakeholders about progress
• imagine how your school-community can develop long term visions and innovative programs
• integrate your planning in a systematic, step-by-step approach

• Frame substance abuse prevention within a comprehensive school health approach
• Share responsibility and capacity
• Consider developmental pathways
• Promote positive youth development and resiliency
• Account for sex and gender differences
• Understand and engage diverse student audiences
• Assess the situation by accounting fior current activities, determining local substance use patterns, learning protective and risk factors, clarifying perceptions and expectations and assessing your resources and capacity to act
• Prepare a plan and your capacity by ensuring goals address priority harms and relevant factors, engaging students in the initiative, strengthening links with parents and other partners, conducting ongoing professional development of teachers, addressing the sustainability of the initiative
• Implement a comprehensive initiative by cultivating a positive school climate for all, delivering developmentally appropriate instruction at all levels, implementing targeted activities within a comprehensive continuum, preparing and implementing relevant policies
• Evaluate the initiative by conducting a process evaluation, conducting an outcome evaluation and accounting for costs of the initiative