The Educational Nexus to the War on Drugs: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The war on drugs has had a heavy impact on educational settings, yet to date the fields of education in emergencies and comparative and international education have largely overlooked it. This systematic review of relevant empirical studies published between 1988 and 2018 across 20 subfields of education examines how academic scholarship has addressed the intersection of schooling and the war on drugs. Through a content analysis of 420 articles, we quantified the occurrence of terms related to the war on drugs, identified patterns and trends, and explored their underlying meaning. We found abundant academic literature on drugs and schools, particularly with regard to student drug use, but little research that examines the educational implications of the war on drugs. We draw from the concept of assemblage to frame the scope of this global conflict and conclude with a research agenda that incorporates discussions about the war on drugs in the education in emergencies field.