"Coming to the new D.A.R.E."
Dr. Hecht presented Coming to the new D.A.R.E. on Monday, March 30, 2015 in the IUPUI Campus Center.
The presentation addressed critical questions about a well known, long standing alcohol and drug prevention program used in schools: What is the new D.A.R.E. being taught in Indiana, across the nation, and around the world? Has it overcome controversies swirling around the program to reach a new generation of youth? How has it changed – what is this new and improved curriculum being taught to a new generation of our youth?
For over 30 years, the D.A.R.E. program, designed to teach students good decision making skills to help them lead safe and responsible lives, has been a dominant influence in the lives of our nation’s youth. Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1983, the program has placed police officers in classrooms to prevent drug use and violence. Each year D.A.R.E. officers reach thousands of U.S. youth as well as those in 47 countries around the world. However, almost from the beginning controversies arose about the effectiveness in the program. After an exhaustive review of all effective prevention programs, keepin’ it REAL was adopted by D.A.R.E. America as the new middle school curriculum in 2009 and then as the new elementary curriculum in 2013. So, what is this new partnership among an evidence-based curriculum created and evaluated by academics, the field experience of D.A.R.E.’s officers and educators, local police, and schools? Can these diverse groups collaborate effectively in order to contribute to the development of safe and responsible youth? What makes this program unique and how does it differ from previous versions of D.A.R.E.? Dr. Michael Hecht, one of the creators of keepin’ it REAL , discussed how his team collaborated with D.A.R.E., local police, and schools to develop something new and different.
Michael Hecht (PhD, University of Illinois) is a Distinguished Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University and President of REAL Prevention, LLC. He is the co-creator of the evidence-based keepin’ it REAL substance use prevention curriculum for elementary and middle school students that, since its adoption by D.A.R.E. America, is the most widely disseminated substance use prevention program in the world. The curriculum is a translation of theory and research on culture (the principle of cultural grounding), health message design (narrative engagement theory), and interpersonal relationships through community-based research processes. Dr. Hecht’s other projects focus on using interactive video games for sex education, narrative HPV vaccination promotion, and media literacy. In addition to D.A.R.E., collaborators include Planned Parenthood, the 4H Clubs of America, as well as organizations in Nicaragua where his company is involved in adolescent health promotion. Dr. Hecht’s work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, US AID, and the Nemours Foundation among others.