Considerations for a Unified Research Agenda for School Health Education

Birch, David

doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2012.00727.x

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Every field can benefit from new research and teacher preparation is no exception. Although research evidence exists about curriculum effectiveness, little research has addressed persistent barriers to implementation and maintenance of school health education (Birch, 2012). Since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and subsequent heavy implementation of high-stakes testing in public schools and then the passage of the ESSA, little research regarding health education teacher preparation has been conducted (Boguslawski, 2018).…”

Section: Challenge #5: Develop Fund and Implement Research Focused mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality Assurance in Teaching K–12 Health Education: Paving a New Path Forward

Birch

Goekler

Auld

et al. 2019

Health Promotion Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To be effective, school health instruction should be taught by health educators who have graduated from accredited health education teacher education programs and are certified in health education. Unfortunately, the nation has failed to ensure that all those who teach health in schools are well prepared. States vary in the required coursework for health teachers in terms of initial licensure and continuing education for licensure renewal; most elementary teachers are not required to receive preparation in health education; health education and physical education are often viewed as synonymous disciplines; support for in-service education of health teachers is often lacking; and more research is needed in professional preparation and development of school health educators. This article provides a call to action in five areas to strengthen both the professional preparation and professional development of school health educators. Given that education is a social determinant of health, public health educators must become stronger allies in supporting school health to promote health equity. Public health practitioners can advocate to state and community school decision makers for comprehensive school health education taught by teachers with appropriate professional preparation and certification in health education. Public health faculty can educate their students about the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child framework and effective strategies for its implementation, and seek rigorous professional preparation and certification and accreditation standards for their school teacher preparation programs. National health and education organizations can call for new leadership and investments in health education teacher preparation and development for a brighter future.

show abstract

Section: Challenge #5: Develop Fund and Implement Research Focused mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality Assurance in Teaching K–12 Health Education: Paving a New Path Forward

Birch

Goekler

Auld

et al. 2019

Health Promotion Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent publications have highlighted the need for surveillance of school health policies and practices. For example, in explaining the importance of systematic public health policy surveillance, Chriqui et al note that “what gets measured gets changed.” Similarly, Birch calls for the development of a formal research agenda for school health education as a way of “improving professional practice, increasing the perceived value of (school health education) among decision makers and stakeholders, and assuring access to quality instruction for all students.” Such an agenda would necessarily include assessments of policies and practices related to school health education.…”

Section: Challenge #5: Using Surveys To Monitor Policies Can Be Diffimentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in and Strategies for the Surveillance of School Health Policies and Practices: A Commentary

Brener

Wechsler

Kann

2014

Journal of School Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Whereas suggestions for research agendas in school health education have been presented at various times during the last 40 years, few of these proposed agendas included recommendations related to research and evaluation in professional preparation in school health education. In 1995, O'Rourke suggested research agenda that included 3 questions related to professional preparation in school health education: (1) Does professional preparation in school health produce improved school health and learning outcomes?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and (3) How and why do exemplary programs differ? Birch, in 2012, posed 3 questions related to teacher education programs in school health education: (1) What types of teacher education courses and experiences are important to the professional preparation of school health educators? (2) What are the essential components of an effective internship/student teaching experience?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The formal development of a research agenda for teacher education in school health education warrants profession‐wide consideration. Birch presented several agenda‐setting processes that have been used by professional organizations to develop research agendas in public health areas including topics such as health promotion interventions for chronic disease prevention, transdisciplinary research for addressing health disparities, and school nursing. These processes engaged professionals with diverse responsibilities in the respective professional areas in the development of the specific research agenda.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation