Does school ethos explain the relationship between value-added education and teenage substance use? A cohort study

Abstract

Previous studies found lower substance use in schools achieving better examination and truancy results than expected, given their pupil populations (high value-added schools). This study examines whether these findings are replicated in West Scotland and whether school ethos indicators focussing on pupils' perceptions of schooling (environment, involvement, engagement and teacher–pupil relations) mediate the associations. Teenagers from forty-one schools (S2, aged 13, n = 2268; S4, aged 15, n = 2096) previously surveyed in primary school (aged 11, n = 2482) were surveyed in the late 1990s. School value-added scores were derived from standardised residuals of two regression equations separately predicting from pupils' socio-demographic characteristics (1) proportions of pupils passing five Scottish Standard Grade Examinations, and (2) half-day truancy loss. Outcomes were current smoking, monthly drinking, ever illicit drug use. Random effects logistic regression models adjusted for potential pupil-level confounders were used to assess (1) associations between substance use and school-level value-added scores and (2) whether these associations were mediated by pupils' perceptions of schooling or other school-level factors (school roll, religious denomination and mean aggregated school-level ethos scores). Against expectations, value-added education was positively associated with smoking (Odds Ratios [95% confidence intervals] for one standard deviation increase in value-added scores were 1.28 [1.02–1.61] in S2 and 1.13 [1.00–1.27] in S4) and positively but weakly and non-significantly associated with drinking and drug use. Engagement and positive teacher–pupil relations were strongly and negatively associated with all substance use outcomes at both ages. Other school-level factors appeared weakly and largely non-significantly related to substance use. Value-added scores were unrelated to school ethos measures and no ethos measure mediated associations between value-added education and substance use. We conclude that substance use in Scotland is more likely in high value-added schools, among disengaged students and those with poorer student–teacher relationships. Understanding the underpinning mechanisms is a potentially important public health concern.

Teachers' perspectives on their role in school-based alcohol and cannabis prevention

“…school completion officers, principals, and home school liaison) describing regular experiences with students visibly 'hungover ', 'dozy', 'stoned', 'unable to concentrate', or 'agitated' during classtime (Van Hout and Connor 2008). Such findings are also very much dependent on student -teacher relationships, with positive teacher and school bonding resulting in reduced rates of substance use and youth conflict, and positive levels of school satisfaction, classroom adjustment, and student motivation (Libbey 2004, Pianta and Stuhlman 2004, Gest et al 2005, Baker 2006, Doll and Cummings 2008, Davidson et al 2010, Markham et al 2012, Perra et al 2012. The mismatch between children and young people's development needs during transition or situation within second-level schooling may account for reduced academic motivation and performance, self-esteem, and potential for engagement in alcohol and drug use (Fenzel 2000).…”

“…The potential consideration of the school environment, where all educational staff are involved, reduces the potential biases incurred when teaching is restricted to one or two teachers delivering alcohol-and drug-related material and dependent on subjective translation of content (Markham and Aveyard 2003, Fletcher et al 2008, Paakkari et al 2010, Franklin et al 2012. In conjunction with this universaltype approach, teachers would also be advised to dedicate focus toward more vulnerable or 'at risk' students presenting with low school and teacher bonding, potential problematic substance use, and poor commitment to academic studies (Markham et al 2012).…”

Where next with theory and research on how the school environment influences young people's substance use?

“…In all these studies except one (Tobler et al, 2011) this measure also included local deprivation so that these studies aimed to control for potential confounding by neighbourhood effects . With the exception of one study (Markham et al, 2012), the studies using this measure have reported consistent weak-to-moderate associations between value-added education and lower rates of smoking, drinking alcohol and drug use, even accounting for prior use in longitudinal studies (Markham et al, 2008, Tobler et al, 2011. Gross measures of educational attainment and truancy were not related to substance use.…”

“…Another group of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies undertaken in the UK and USA has aimed to engage with this theory more directly by examining associations between 'valueadded education' and various measures of substance use (Aveyard et al, 2004, Bisset et al, 2007, Markham et al, 2008, Markham et al, 2012, Tobler et al, 2011. In these studies, value-added education was used as a proxy measure for the degree to which schools succeed in gaining students' commitments to the 'instructional' and 'regulatory' orders.…”

Drug use prevention projects in schools in Vitória, Brazil: quality analysis and improvement proposals

“…The same goes for "positive social relationships" and "alternative activities to drug use". The former are contents of actions aimed at strengthening the positive social student-student, students-teachers, students-parents and teachers-parents networks (Jiménez et al 2014), which function as inhibitors of the likelihood of drug use by the students (the positive school ethos, Markham et al 2012).…”