A national assessment of colleges and university school health education methods courses

Across the United States, school health education programs provide a wide variety of knowledge and skills to their students. There are currently no guidelines for school health methods courses.

Using a 2-wave mailing followed by a third wave e-mail reminder, a final population of 226 university school health methods instructors at school health preparation programs were surveyed.

A total of 138 completed surveys (61%) were returned. The topics taught in school health education methods courses emphasized the most included aligning objectives, instruction, and assessment (79%); development of lesson plans (73%); teaching methods that engage learners (72%); and application of the National Health Education Standards and performance indicators (69%). The content taught and how the instructors assessed their students differed statistically by 1 or more of the following: whether they had a health education degree, had experience teaching in the public schools, and if their program was accredited.

This study provides information regarding what school health methods instructors across the United States are teaching in their classes. Using this information as a baseline can serve as a guide for preservice faculty teaching a school health methods course.