A Study of Educator Knowledge and Attitude Toward a Curriculum of Suicide Prevention

The purpose of this study was to determine how knowledgeable educators see themselves in relation to adolescent suicides and to determine teacher attitudes toward a curriculum of suicide prevention. To complete this study, the following questions were examined: 1. Is adolescent suicide a progressive problem? 2. Do teachers know how to recognize potential suicide? 3. Should educators take an active role in assuming some of the responsibiility for suicide prevention? The following were recognized as limitations of the study: 1. This study was limited by the fact that a self-made instrument was used. The questions were such that responses could become ambiguous. This made conclusions statistically hard to prove. 2. Since the sample of teachers was limited to Southwest Missouri, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to the whole population