Enhancing the Understanding of Healthful Living Essential Standards in North Carolina Middle and High Schools: Who are the Educators, How Standards Are Taught and What Resources Are Needed?
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- January 25, 2020
- Creator
-
Considine, Julia
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program
- Abstract
- The purpose of this qualitative research was to gather feedback to understand the current state of how the Healthful Living Essential Standards are implemented in North Carolina middle and high schools. The Essential Standards educate students about the risks associated with use of (1) alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, (2) interpersonal communication and relationships (3) mental and emotional health, (4) personal and consumer health and (5) nutrition and physical activity. The focus was on how the Essential Standards are taught, who teaches it, what resources are used, and what support is needed. While the questions address healthful living overall, there were also questions specifically regarding reproductive health and safety. This research was a collaboration with North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) Healthy Schools Team from June 2016 until March 2017. Over two-hundred administrators and educators were contacted utilizing purposive sampling. Thirty-five interviews were completed in person or via telephone lasting approximately forty-five minutes each. The interviews were audio recorded and coded for themes. Those interviewed included at least two members of the central education office, such as a principal or curriculum lead and at least two health education teachers in each of the eight N.C. State Board of Education Districts. Key findings include 1) Eighty-eight percent of the health/PE teachers did not receive sexuality education courses for their health education degree at their university or college. 2) Thirty-seven percent of health education teachers have not received professional development for reproductive health and safety in five or more years. 3) Fifty-two percent of participants reported that condom demonstrations were not occurring in the classroom. 4) Thirty-four percent of schools surveyed offer health for approximately seven weeks a semester. Thirty-four percent of those surveyed also stated that class time was shared evenly. Administrators were more likely to report that health and PE share instruction time evenly but teachers reported that health received less time. Recommendation Summary includes: 1) Separate health and physical education into two semester–long courses offered each year. 2) Enhance and disseminate a portal for resources and materials related to Reproductive Health and Safety 3) Provide additional professional development and support to attend trainings 4) Include health education in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and add health education to the Common Core.
- Date of publication
- December 2017
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Track: Leadership
- Paper type: Research or research design
- Advisor
- Evarts, Lori
- Reviewer
- Lightfoot, Alexandra
- Degree
- Master of Public Health
- Academic concentration
- Public Health
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2017
- Language
- Deposit record
- 09e7e258-3c78-4ddc-9c28-d68499fa0893
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This work has no parents.
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