Overview of the D.A.R.E. Program
The D.A.R.E. program has three main goals.
First, D.A.R.E. seeks to provide students with a knowledge base on the
effects of drug abuse that go beyond the physical ramifications and
extend to emotional, social, and economic aspects of life. Secondly,
D.A.R.E. aims to build decision-making and problem solving skills and
strategies to help students make informed decisions and resist drug use,
peer pressure, and violence. Lastly, an integral part of the D.A.R.E.
program is to provide students with alternatives to drug use.
D.A.R.E. is a universal program designed to
reach the general population, rather than "at risk" groups,
and it is most often implemented in the fifth and sixth grades. Research
has shown this to be a time when children are very receptive to
anti-drug messages, particularly as they approach the age associated
with drug experimentation. The curriculum focuses on knowledge and skill
development in seven areas: 1) cognitive information, 2) recognizing
pressures, 3) refusal skills,
4) consequential thinking and risk taking, 5) interpersonal and
communication skills,
6) decision making, 7) positive alternatives. Some
of the D.A.R.E. lessons focus on raising awareness in these skill areas,
while others emphasize their practical application.
D.A.R.E. is instinctive in its approach in
that specially trained, uniformed police officers conduct the lessons in
the classroom. By employing law enforcement officers to teach the
curriculum, D.A.R.E. brings the firsthand accounts of the
officers' experiences from the street to the classroom. It is this
unique aspect of the program that not only intrigues students but also
helps to foster a positive relationship between the students and police
officers. While officers actually conduct the D.A.R.E. lessons, a
licensed teacher is required to be present in the classroom. That
teacher is expected to reinforce the D.A.R.E. material by
integrating its objectives into the general curriculum for the
particular grade level. It is believed that this will strengthen the
students' understanding of the D.A.R.E. objectives and increase
their confidence in applying those skills in a variety of situations.
The lessons provide factual information about
drugs, with an emphasis on gateway drugs (marijuana, alcohol, and
tobacco), and teach refusal skills through role-playing and other
techniques. Since its inception, D.A.R.E. has undergone revisions
as a result of research findings and is now more interactive, promoting
active student participation. Additionally, D.A.R.E. has
broadened its focus to include conflict resolution and gang prevention,
and has expanded to encompass programs for parent education and
after-school recreation and learning.
