The Addiction Curricula: An Ontario Elementary Approach

Addiction is a multifaceted psychological, social, economic, and structural state of existence that can take over a person’s life causing self-harm and possibly death. In response, the Ontario Ministry of Education has embedded within the Ontario Elementary Health and Physical Education school programs with curricula designed to equip students with knowledge and skills to address addiction. Ontario Elementary educators are tasked with the job of educating children and youth about drugs, usage and addiction from an early age in Ontario Elementary schools. This content analysis was completed within the Ontario Elementary Health and Physical Education (2019) document to better understand how educators are to address the topic of addiction within the current Ontario Health and Physical Education curricula.