Robert E. Shute

Conceptual Areas of Death Education

The need for the inclusion of death education concepts into the curriculum at all levels has been expressed by numerous health educators. In order to effectively meet this need, it is imperative that teachers be adequately prepared to deal with the diverse and sometimes controversial topics encompassed by a death education course. Although there is a vast amount of information in the area of death and dying, there does not appear to be a consensus about the essential knowledge base which should be included in a professional preparation course in death education for health educators. As a result, death education courses vary tremendously in the scope and depth of topics covered. Current events, instructor biases, previous experiences, and departmental philosophy often determine the focus of a death education course.

A Training Model for Drug Abuse Prevention: Content and Evaluation

This article briefly describes the content and evaluation of a training center for drug abuse prevention. Through a series of four workshops conducted throughout Central Pennsylvania, teams of students, educators, and community leaders received intensive training in behavioral group counseling focused on alternatives to drug use. Evaluation along several criteria indicated that the goals of the training center were successfully achieved.

Training Models for Drug Abuse Prevention: Recommendations for the Future

Why do we, as drug educators, conduct training programs for school, community, and agency personnel? If our ultimate goal is to produce a cadre of skilled trainees who will be effective in primary prevention ventures, then we should be quite disappointed. This article describes and provides examples of the three major training modalities currently in vogue. The strengths and weaknesses of each are examined and then integrated to build a recommended model for future training efforts.