Training needs in school health education research

The purpose of this paper is to review the history of professional preparation of health educators for the conduct of research, to present several major issues and problems related to school health education research, and to identify the characteristics of present training models. Despite the fact that health education can trace its origin to early in this century, it was not until 1953 that a formal statement on research competencies was formulated. Since that time, however, a great deal of activity has been identified. While several issues have been raised regarding research strategies and techniques used by health educators, current training models hold a great deal of promise for strengthening these efforts. The characteristics of such training models are described.