It’s a nightmare to teach pupils that use drugs
FEAR, disappointment, anger and decreased job satisfaction are some of the emotions that teachers who teach pupils who are drug users go through.
These revelations are made in a study titled, Educators’ experience of their relationship with adolescents involved in drug use.
The study was published last month in the SA Journal of Education and was conducted by academics from the North West University, Potchefstroom campus.
The study was conducted in a secondary school in a high-risk community in Cape Town where 16 teachers participated.
According to the survey, the community has been identified as one of 20 high-risk communities in South Africa where there is a high incidence of drug abuse.
The study points out that in SA, learner drug use is becoming a significant problem, with a fifth of pupils having tried a drug by the time they finish primary school.
In 2013, the Department of Basic Education published a document titled, National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use Amongst Learners in School.
Among other things, it published statistics looking at Grade 8 to 11 pupils who were using drugs.
It emerged that 12.7% of pupils were using cannabis, 7.4% were using mandrax, 6.8% were using ecstasy and 6.7% were using cocaine.
The recent study also found that teachers dealing with pupils using drugs are faced with challenges that lead to less job satisfaction which, in turn, could result in a negative relationship with the pupils.
“It is important to mention that a strained educator-learner relationship may not be in the best interest of the learner, and may inhibit solving problems the learner may be experiencing. These problems may be exacerbated by the learner having to leave school, which may further affect the chances of success in life,” reads the study.
Teachers also reported feeling ineffective when dealing with such learners and also that they did not trust them. “You get to a point where you feel despondent towards the learner because the learner is absolutely not listening, and you feel that there’s just so much distance between yourself and the learner, that nothing can be done. [sic],” said a teacher.
Teachers also told the academics that when they approach them about their drug use the pupils are disrespectful.
“They tend to be more aggressive, also have that ‘never mind attitude’ and being very nonchalant about things. They will backchat you or even insult you [sic],” said another teacher.
The study recommended that schools should look into the wellbeing of teachers, especially those who deal with pupils who use drugs to avoid burnout in order to provide quality education.
“They tend to be more aggressive, have that ‘never mind attitude’