NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1488402
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Nov
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0017-8969
EISSN: EISSN-1748-8176
Available Date: 0000-00-00
'We've Seen It Escalate -- It's a Huge Problem': A Mixed Methods Study of Teachers' Perceptions of Vaping in Secondary Schools
Bronwyn McGill1,2; Shiho Rose3; Christina Watts3; Sam Egger3,4; Alecia Brooks4; Emily Jenkinson4; Renee West5; Anita Dessaix4; Ciara Madigan4; Becky Freeman1,2
Health Education Journal, v84 n7 p722-736 2025
Objectives: Although schools have an important role to play in preventing vape use, literature about teacher perceptions of vaping among students is limited. This study investigated teachers' perceptions of student vaping in Australian secondary schools over a 12-month period. Design: Mixed methods design. Setting: Australian secondary schools. Method: We used quantitative survey data from secondary school teachers for three waves of the Generation Vape project from March-April 2022 to March-April 2023 (n = 1,364), and qualitative focus group data from March-April 2023 (n = 6 groups, n = 32 participants). Differences in survey data across time were tested using multinomial regression and linear regression, and common focus group data themes were identified. Results: Eighty-five percent of teachers were concerned or very concerned about vaping at school, with the proportion who were very concerned increasing from 43% to 55% over the 12 months. There was consistent and strong agreement that vape use is unsafe for young people and high agreement that vaping during adolescence can cause addiction. Focus group discussions provided context to survey findings: teachers' awareness of and concern about vaping in schools, and the harms of vaping in students, which both then influenced school priorities for vaping management. Findings suggest inconsistent strategies to manage vaping in schools detract teachers from their core focus on teaching. Conclusion: Our study, the first to investigate teacher perceptions of vaping in Australian secondary schools across time, demonstrates increasing teacher concerns. As vaping is a community-wide problem, a coordinated response across government is required to support teachers in reducing student vape use at school.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia; 2Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia; 3Daffodil Centre, The University of Sydney, Newtown, NSW, Australia; 4Cancer Council NSW, Woolloomooloo, NSW, Australia; 5NSW Department of Education, Sydney, NSW, Australia