Rural educator values in the implementation of drug education : a critical assessment of a crisis moral community

Abstract

This study examined the values, competencies, and goals of educators related to preventing drug abuse. Its purpose was to develop a new theory to define the crisis moral community among the educators: a theory which linked the primary variables (values, competencies, and goals) in such a way as to reveal their relationships. Twenty rural educators who had participated in a drug education training program, were surveyed using two instruments: one which examined their perceived competencies to conduct drug education and one which examined their values related to four imagined conflict situations. The relationship between the two assessments linked the teachers' values to their perceived level of competency and the goal of their drug education program. The face value of the data permitted the development of a finer description of the three linked variables. Not only do the variables covary; they also transform as they move from simple to complex (values), random to purposeful (competencies), and information-only to enfranchisement (goals). The primary result supports a crisis among the educators surveyed. The substantive conclusion is the development of enfranchisement theory as a higher order method for preventing drug abuse. Enfranchisement theory establishes a critical horizon that explains the failure of many drug education programs (DARE, for example) and proposes a values set, level of educator competency, and program goals for effective drug education.