Prevention training of paraprofessionals in the schools: an examination of relevancy and effectiveness

Prevention training programs for paraprofessional school personnel are examined in this article. Prevention training for the reduction of student alcohol and other drug use, incorporating a student well-being model, is described and evaluated. The prevention training, entitled "Enhancing Student Well-Being," took place in two urban school districts with over 200 paraprofessional school personnel participating. The training was evaluated using measures of knowledge gained, self-efficacy, and participant satisfaction. Pre- and post-training differences showed consistent gains in participant efficacy expectations but less consistent gains in outcome expectations and knowledge. Participant satisfaction and self-reports of knowledge enhanced and skill improvement were uniformly high across all training programs. Implications for inservice prevention training of paraprofessionals are discussed.