Presentación de la evaluación de programas preventivos en Congreso de prevención escolar organizado en Washington por el Departamento de Educación.

1. EVALUATE PREVENTIONEVALUATE PREVENTION
How harmonize the experimental controlHow harmonize the experimental control
with the implementation of the programmeswith the implementation of the programmes
in not controllable contexts?in not controllable contexts?
Washington, 23-24 October 2003Washington, 23-24 October 2003

2. Why do weWhy do we
evaluate?evaluate?
• Scientists evaluate to improve the
knowledge in the field of drug prevention.
• Prevention workers evaluate to know the
effectivenness of our projects.
• Can scientificals and prevention workers use
the same methodologies and the same
tools?

3. Some logical requirementsSome logical requirements
of the evaluationof the evaluation
• Keep the control on the variables:
– The project is implemented according to the
design.
– Control Group and Intervention Group don’t
change during the process.
– Control Group don’t receive any intervention
during the study.
– Teacher act as an automaton implementing the
proposed activities without adaptation.

4. Some risks of theSome risks of the
experimental evaluationexperimental evaluation
• Project don’t take into account the differences
between students and it is implemented in a
standarised way.
• The programme is external to the school and
its evaluation is artificial.
• Teacher, key element in the implementation,
become a tool forced to a standarised work.

5. Basic criteria aboutBasic criteria about
drug educationdrug education
• Every classroom is different to the others.
• Every teacher is different to the others.
• Every school, in every context, has specific
caracteristics.
• Teachers live a lot of pressures which make
him inconstant.

6. Thinking about evaluationThinking about evaluation
• All of us know well the scientific criteria for
experimental evaluation.
• All of us know well the requirements of the
implementation of drug education projects.
• The question is not “to be or not to be” strict
scientists.
• The question is “to be or not to be” realistic about the
school and the teachers who mustn’t adaptate himself
to the programme but the programme has to be
adaptated to them.

7. Our main programmeOur main programme
The Adventure of LifeThe Adventure of Life
• In 1989 we created The Adventure Of Life.
• A health education programme.
• Aimed at schoolchildren from 8 to 12 years old.
• Core themes:
– Self-Steem
– Life Skills
– Information and attituds toward Drugs
– Healthy habits

8. • Materials:
• an Album with picture cards for each child
• a Guide for each teacher
• a Manual for each family
• Coverage:
• 250 Municipalities in 10 regions in Spain.
• 80,000 schoolchildren, 5,000 educators and thousands
of families.
• It is implemented in 15 Latin American countries,
reaching more than 300,000 schoolchildren every year.
• Evaluation:
• In 2002, we evaluated the programme in 11 countries,
interviewing 215 teachers and testing 7.300 pupils.
Nuestra señas de identidadNuestra señas de identidad
Las drogas, un nuevo reto socialLas drogas, un nuevo reto social
La escuela, un laboratorio de futuroLa escuela, un laboratorio de futuro
PRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIMARY EDUCATION
Educación secundaria obligatoriaEducación secundaria obligatoria
Educación secundaria postobligatoriaEducación secundaria postobligatoria
Intervención integral en la escuelaIntervención integral en la escuela
Contextos educativos no formalesContextos educativos no formales
Más allá de la escuelaMás allá de la escuela

9. Challenges for the evaluationChallenges for the evaluation
• In Europe and in Latin America it is difficult to
find financial resources for long time evaluations.
• This project is implemented in each school on a
voluntary basis.
• Teachers start with a high motivation but this
change along the school years.
• Students are not well separated according to
their age. So, in Ecuador, you can find 11 and 14
years aged pupils in the same class-room.
• It is more and more difficult to find Control
Groups.

10. Qualitative evaluationQualitative evaluation
• Is it possible to use qualitative evaluations with
acceptable results?
• Teachers know a lot about the evolution of the
schoolchildren. So, qualitative methodologies
can be useful to reach this information.
• Teachers can think about the internal challenges
of the preventive programmes according to their
practical experience.

11. Quantitative evaluationQuantitative evaluation
• Is it possible to use different levels of control?
• Can we create different aproachs to the
evaluation according to the resources, the
contexts, the knowledge, the financiation?
• Is it possible to build different practical models
of evaluation with a diferent experimental level,
to help communities to evaluate its work without
the requirements of the scientists?

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