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1996 Massachusetts School Health Education Profile Report

Lead Health Teacher Results

1. Is a health education course required for students in any of grades 6 through 12 in this school?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Yes	96	89	94
b. No	4	11	6

2. Are teachers in this school required to use any of the following materials in required health education courses for students in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. State curriculum guidelines, or framework for health education	61	55	63
b. District curriculum, guidelines, or framework	71	74	64
c. School curriculum, guidelines, or framework	74	84	81
d. Commercially developed health education curricula	38	31	25
e. Teacher's guides to student textbooks	29	31	28

3. In addition to the required materials listed above, do teachers in this school use any of the following materials in required health education courses for students in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. State curriculum, guidelines, or framework for health education	26	33	28
b. District curriculum, guidelines, or framework	11	14	12
c. School curriculum, guidelines, or framework	15	7	14
d. Commercially developed health education curricula	47	59	58
e. Teacher's guides to student textbooks	38	56	51
f. Newspapers and magazines	95	100	97
g. Teacher-developed lesson plans	97	100	100
h. Audiovisual materials	96	98	98

4. During this school year, have teachers in this school used any of the following strategies to involve parents in required health education courses for students in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Sent educational materials to parents	63	50	53
b. Included parents in homework assignments	75	79	65
c. Sent letters or newsletters on health-related topics to parents	62	57	54
d. Invited parents to be guest speakers on health-related topics	34	43	35
e. Invited parents to attend health education class or health fairs	51	47	43
f. Provided school programs on health-related topics for parents	52	48	46
g. Included parents on the school health advisory council	62	80	83
h. Participated in health education curriculum development or review	67	73	61

5. During this school year, have teachers in this school tried to increase student knowledge on the following topics in required health education course(s) in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Alcohol and other drug use prevention	99	100	99
b. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma	68	75	63
c. Community health	69	77	75
d. Conflict resolution/violence prevention	93	98	95
e. Consumer health	80	82	78
f. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)	49	71	70
g. Death and dying	47	51	58
h. Dental and oral health	58	51	49
I. Dietary behaviors and nutrition	96	95	95
j. Disease prevention and control	95	91	98
k. Emotional and mental health	93	95	92
l. Environmental health	61	67	57
m. First aid	70	73	73
n. Growth and development	96	95	87
o. HIV prevention	98	98	100
p. Human sexuality	89	93	95
q. Injury prevention and safety	82	77	76
r. Personal health	95	93	95
s. Physical activity and fitness	91	86	90
t. Pregnancy prevention	75	91	93
u. Reproductive health	83	96	94
v. Sexual harassment	84	89	91
w. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention	89	98	98
x. Suicide prevention	62	84	75
y. Tobacco use prevention	99	95	98

6. During this school year, have teachers in this school tried to improve student attitudes on the following topics in required health education course(s) in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Alcohol and other drug use prevention	99	700	99
b. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma	63	77	58
c. Community health	70	77	70
d. Conflict resolution/violence prevention	95	98	97
e. Consumer health	81	80	77
f. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)	55	67	69
g. Death and dying	52	62	59
h. Dental and oral health	62	65	47
I. Dietary behaviors and nutrition	97	98	97
j. Disease prevention and control	93	93	97
k. Emotional and mental health	93	95	94
l. Environmental health	66	70	63
m. First aid	70	65	73
n. Growth and development	96	96	86
o. HIV prevention	97	100	100
p. Human sexuality	90	98	94
q. Injury prevention and safety	83	74	79
r. Personal health	97	98	95
s. Physical activity and fitness	90	91	95
t. Pregnancy prevention	78	96	95
u. Reproductive health	82	98	94
v. Sexual harassment	90	91	94
w. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention	90	100	98
x. Suicide prevention	65	86	79
y. Tobacco use prevention	99	100	98

7. During this school year, have teachers in this school taught any of the following skills in required health education course(s) for students in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Communication	91	98	91
b. Decision-making	98	100	98
c. Goal setting	90	82	88
d. Non-violent conflict resolution	89	93	89
e. Resisting social pressure for unhealthy behaviors (i.e. refusal skills)	97	98	98
f. Stress management	78	89	80
g. Analysis of media messages	92	78	86

8. During this school year, has parental feedback caused teachers in this school to expand coverage on any of the following topics in required health education course(s) for students in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Alcohol and other drug use prevention	25	35	30
b. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma	7	5	5
c. Community health	8	9	7
d. Conflict resolution/violence prevention	24	27	29
e. Consumer health	4	2	5
f. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)	8	6	12
g. Death and dying	7	5	11
h. Dental and oral health	3	5	6
I. Dietary behaviors and nutrition	21	22	19
j. Disease prevention and control	15	15	11
k. Emotional and mental health	17	13	13
l. Environmental health	6	5	5
m. First aid	7	4	3
n. Growth and development	13	7	6
o. HIV prevention	20	22	25
p. Human sexuality	15	15	21
q. Injury prevention and safety	8	2	6
r. Personal health	8	7	6
s. Physical activity and fitness	10	11	12
t. Pregnancy prevention	9	15	18
u. Reproductive health	9	15	12
v. Sexual harassment	20	16	24
w. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention	11	13	16
x. Suicide prevention	12	18	13
y. Tobacco use prevention	23	22	28

9. During this school year, has parental feedback caused teachers in this school to limit coverage on any of the following topics in required health education course(s) for students in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Alcohol and other drug use prevention	1	0	2
b. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma	1	0	2
c. Community health	1	0	2
d. Conflict resolution/violence prevention	1	0	2
e. Consumer health	1	0	2
f. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)	1	0	2
g. Death and dying	2	0	2
h. Dental and oral health	1	0	2
I. Dietary behaviors and nutrition	1	0	2
j. Disease prevention and control	1	0	2
k. Emotional and mental health	1	0	2
l. Environmental health	1	0	2
m. First aid	1	0	2
n. Growth and development	4	0	3
o. HIV prevention	10	4	7
p. Human sexuality	19	0	12
q. Injury prevention and safety	1	0	2
r. Personal health	1	0	2
s. Physical activity and fitness	1	0	2
t. Pregnancy prevention	13	4	5
u. Reproductive health	10	0	4
v. Sexual harassment	4	0	2
w. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention	11	0	5
x. Suicide prevention	2	0	2
y. Tobacco use prevention	1	2	2

10. During this school year, have health education teachers in this school planned or coordinated health related projects or activities with members of any of the following groups?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Physical education teachers	70	66	80
b. Other subject area teachers	73	70	67
c. School food service	21	29	21
d. School health services	68	72	73
e. School counseling or psychological services	65	77	66
f. Local law enforcement	76	77	72
g. PTA/PTO	32	31	25
h. Voluntary health organizations	53	68	61
I. Local health department	31	44	40
j. Local hospital	35	38	43

11. Is HIV infection/AIDS taught as part of required health education course(s) for students in any of grades 6 through 12 in this school?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Yes	95	98	98
b. No	5	2	2

12. During this school year, did teachers in this school teach about the following topics in required health education course(s) for students in any of grades 6 through 12?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Basic facts about HIV infection/AIDS	99	100	100
b. How HIV is and is not transmitted	99	100	100
c. How HIV affects the immune system	99	100	99
d. Disease progression of AIDS	88	95	98
e. Needle-sharing behaviors that transmit HIV infection	99	100	98
f. Sexual behaviors that transmit HIV infection	93	98	99
g. Reasons for choosing sexual abstinence	95	98	99
h. Correct use of condoms	30	71	81
I. Condom efficiency/how well condoms work	59	93	94
j. Influence of alcohol and other drugs on HIV infection risk behaviors	93	96	98
k. Statistics on adolescent death and disability related to HIV infection/AIDS	78	88	95
l. Group attitudes (social norms) toward risk behaviors related to HIV infection	83	91	93
m. Statistics on the risk behaviors related to HIV infection among adolescents and adults	82	84	95
n. Information on HIV testing and counseling	72	93	97
o. Compassion and support for persons living with HIV infection/AIDS	90	93	96
p. Perceptions of risk for HIV infection/AIDS	91	95	99
q. Societal impact of HIV infection/AIDS	82	88	93

13. Do you teach about HIV infection/AIDS as part of required health education course(s) for students in any of grades 6 through 12 in this school?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Yes	94	98	93
b. No	6	2	7

14. Do any of the following issues make teaching about HIV infection/AIDS difficult for you?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Insufficient training	11	2	9
b. Insufficient teaching materials	18	24	17
c. Large class size	33	29	35
d. Coed classes	11	0	7
e. Uncomfortable teaching about HIV risk behaviors	4	2	3
f. Other demands on class time	42	37	51
g. Parental concern or opposition	22	10	15
h. Community concern or opposition	18	12	14
I. Insufficient administrative support	8	5	6
j. Administrative restrictions	14	7	10
k. Low student interest or enthusiasm	7	19	11

15. During the past two years, have you received four or more hours (at least . day) of inservice training on any of the following health education topics?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Alcohol and other drug use prevention	54	62	58
b. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma	10	13	11
c. Community health	25	25	24
d. Conflict resolution/violence prevention	75	82	73
e. Consumer health	14	9	11
f. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)	54	66	56
g. Death and dying	17	20	10
h. Dental and oral health	2	4	4
I. Dietary behaviors and nutrition	50	37	43
j. Disease prevention and control	34	35	42
k. Emotional and mental health	39	40	37
l. Environmental health	9	11	7
m. First aid	41	42	35
n. Growth and development	36	25	23
o. HIV prevention	57	67	65
p. Human sexuality	49	52	53
q. Injury prevention and safety	27	17	24
r. Personal health	21	23	23
s. Physical activity and fitness	38	34	39
t. Pregnancy prevention	31	36	42
u. Reproductive health	34	38	43
v. Sexual harassment	61	64	63
w. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention	38	49	50
x. Suicide prevention	24	13	26
y. Tobacco use prevention	57	54	60

16. On which of the following health education topics would you like to receive inservice training?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Alcohol and other drug use prevention	55	50	62
b. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma	42	36	43
c. Community health	42	45	41
d. Conflict resolution/violence prevention	63	48	65
e. Consumer health	40	36	56
f. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)	34	32	40
g. Death and dying	62	65	61
h. Dental and oral health	23	18	26
I. Dietary behaviors and nutrition	47	49	60
j. Disease prevention and control	49	48	58
k. Emotional and mental health	63	59	57
l. Environmental health	45	52	50
m. First aid	38	36	35
n. Growth and development	46	28	31
o. HIV prevention	52	41	47
p. Human sexuality	60	54	57
q. Injury prevention and safety	39	32	39
r. Personal health	33	35	42
s. Physical activity and fitness	36	39	44
t. Pregnancy prevention	52	44	53
u. Reproductive health	49	39	47
v. Sexual harassment	64	61	54
w. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention	58	45	58
x. Suicide prevention	78	80	76
y. Tobacco use prevention	40	41	51

17. What is your primary position in this school?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Health education and physical education teacher	16	23	28
b. Health education teacher	59	56	43
c. Physical education teacher	4	3	2
d. Biology or other science teacher	5	2	2
e. Home economics of family and consumer science teacher	3	5	2
f. Family life education or life skills	2	0	0
g. School counselor	1	0	0
h. School nurse	1	0	0
I. Coach	0	0	0
j. Curriculum coordinator	5	7	15
k. Other	5	5	9

18. Do you teach a required health education course for any of grades 6 through 12 in this school?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Yes	95	98	91
b. No	5	2	9

19. Does your state education agency offer certification or endorsement for health education teachers in the grades you now teach?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Yes	90	86	93
b. No	2	4	1
c. Don't know	7	9	6

20. Are you currently certified or endorsed by your state education agency to teach health education in the grades you now teach?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Yes	89	98	91
b. No	11	2	9

21. What was the major emphasis of your professional preparation?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. Health education and physical education	36	43	47
b. Health education	25	24	23
c. Physical education	13	10	10
d. Biology or other science	2	2	2
e. Home economics or family and consumer education	9	14	9
f. Counseling	2	0	6
g. Nursing	1	2	1
h. Elementary education	6	0	0
I. Other	6	5	3

22. Including this school year, how many years have you been teaching health education?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. 1 year	8	0	7
b. 2 to 5 years	32	32	21
c. 6 to 9 years	25	28	18
d. 10 to 14 years	20	18	25
e. 15 years or more	15	23	29

23. Including this school year, how many total years of overall teaching experience have you had?

	Middle (%)	Jr./Sr. (%)	High (%)
a. 1 year	3	0	3
b. 2 to 5 years	15	11	10
c. 6 to 9 years	15	9	7
d. 10 to 14 years	17	16	14
e. 15 years or more	50	64	66

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Family & Community Students & Families Student Support, Career & Education Services

1996 Massachusetts School Health Education Profile Report

Lead Health Teacher Results

Family & Community Students & Families
Student Support, Career & Education Services