A Cooperative Project to Evaluate Health Education at the Elementary Level

Molly S. Wantz, EdS Martha DuShaw, RN, MEd

The school, as a social structure, has every opportunity to provide an educational experience in which the total health of the child should be a priority. The school child of today is confronted by a complexity of social and cultural forces, persuasive influences, and ever-expanding options affecting his health behavior.

During the last few years the Michigan Department of Education, with educators from all levels of public instruction and higher education, have developed Minimal Performance Objectives (MPO) for Health Education for students in grades one through nine, with Objective Reference Tests (ORT) for each of the ten content areas for each grade. The ten content areas are consumer health, community health, disease prevention and control, family health, growth and development, emotional and mental health, nutrition, personal health practices, safety, and substance use and abuse. Per- formance objectives became available for testing in June 1973.

The Troy (Michigan) School District had a newly designed elementary health education curriculum guide including the minimal performance objectives recom- mended by the Michigan Department of Education. Since the elementary teachers and the Coordinator of Health Education felt most teachers were inadequately prepared to implement the curriculum, the Department of Health Education, Wayne State University, was contacted to set up a graduate level curriculum class in health ed~cat ion.~.~ A review of literature had indicated other school districts had successfully implemented health education programs following teachers’ participation in comprehensive in-service training. 69

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of health instruction upon the ORT scores of students in grades one through five in the Troy School District.

There will be significant difference in students’ ORT scores in nutrition, growth and development, family health, emotional and mental health, and substance use and abuse of students in grades one through five.

I

2

Delimitations of the study were: 1. The study was limited to elementary students in

the Troy School District in grades one through five. 2. Only five of the ten content areas identified by the

Michigan Department of Education, namely, nutrition, growth and development, family health, emotional and mental health, and substance use and abuse, were studied.

3. No pretest was administered to the students prior to the teaching; this was to prevent teachers from teaching for the test.

METHODOLOGY The experimental group consisted of 14 classes, 314

students, in grades one through five in eight elementary schools. Nine classes were assigned the lower elementary ORT and five classes, the upper elementary ORT. There were 12 teachers in the experimental group. Three of the nine classes taking the lower elementary ORT were fourth-grade students. Since the tests were based on minimal performance objectives it was felt these were expected competencies for fourth-grade students.

The control group consisted of 14 classes, 324 students in grades one through five in eight elementary schools. There were 12 teachers in the control group. The ORT used in this study was designed by elementary teachers, health educators, and curriculum specialists for the Michigan Education Assessment Program in the Michigan Department of Education.

Teachers in the experimental group were assigned specific content areas to teach. These teachers received health education in-service training in the graduate level curriculum class. They were encouraged to utilize all the methods and materials presented in the class. None of the teachers knew that their students were to be involved in the study. After instruction, each teacher adminis- tered the Michigan ORT to his or her class.

The teachers in the control group were requested to administer the same ORT for their grade level. No

462 THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH OCTOBER 1977

Table 1

Distribution of Students and Objectives by School and Grade Level

School Grade Control Experimental Objectives Taught to Students Students Experimental Group From

MPO Health Education*

A B C D D D D D E E E F G H

4 18 1 25 2 21 4 29 4 27 1 23 4 25 5 21 1 27 3 20 3 21 5 21 5 21 5 25

TOTALS 324

20 23 14 27 27 21 28 20 23 22 21 25 17 26

3 14

-

Nutrition Nutrition Growth and Development Growth and Development Family Health Family Health Nutrition Family Health Growth and Development Emotional and Mental Health Substance Use and Abuse Nutrition Substance Use and Abuse Growth and Development

*The Michigan Department of Education, Minimal Performance Objectives for Health Education in Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, 1974.

Table 2

T-Test Scores on Objective Reference Tests for Students by School and Grade Levels

Health Area School Grade df t

Nutrition Nutrition Nutrition Nutrition Growth and Development Growth and Development* Growth and Development Family Health Family Health* Family Health EmotionaVMental Health Substance Use and Abuse Substance Use and Abuse

B A D F E D H D D D E E G

1 4 4 5 1 4 5 1 4 5 3 3 5

~

46 36 51 44 48 54 49 42 52 39 40 40 36

4.70 4.15 1.67 6.98

-3.02 4.13 5.93 5.27 0.67 4.63 0.72 1.32 1.74

*Fourth-grade students who took the 1-3 grade test

OCTOBER 1977 THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH 463

instruction was to be given prior to the ORT. Table 1 illustrates the distribution of schools, number of students, and the content areas covered by each minimal performance objective.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Analysis of the ORT scores of the experimental and

control groups by a t-test indicated that health instruction did improve ORT scores of students in grades one through five (see Table 2). This improvement was attributed to the fact that teachers presented strategies and utilized teaching aids that enabled students to effectively learn the material.

Analysis of variance and Scheffe comparison of mean tests were conducted on the experimental group scores of Michigan Health Education Assessment tests to determine the significant differences between grade levels. It was found that teaching in grade two was most effective and teaching in grade five was the least effective (see Table 3). Two factors may account for these differences:

1. The material provided for grade two may have been more appropriate for that grade level than the material provided for grade five.

2. Teachers may have been more effective at grades two, three, and four than at grade five because some teachers may have used more methods and materials than did other teachers.

The Scheffe comparison of means was also used to determine significant differences between the five content areas. It appeared that teaching in the health area of growth and development was the most

Table 3

Two-way Analysis of Variance Comparing Student’s Mean Scores on Michigan Health Education Assessment

Tests at Various Grade Levels

Grades Compared m F

1 with2 1 with 3 1 with 4 1 with 5 2 with 3 2 with 4 2 with 5 3 with 4 3 with 5 4 with 5

36.63/50.86 36.63/39.21 36.63/34.54 36.63/28.52 50.86/39.21 50.86/34.54 50.86/28.52 39.21 /34.54 39.21/28.52 34.54/28.52

5.1801 * 0.3858 0.3893 5.5188* 3.1652* 7.24 1 O*

1 3.3099* 1.4573 7.2872* 3.7776*

*r c 05

successful; teaching in substance use and abuse was significantly more effective than nutrition and family health, but not significantly more effective than emotional and mental health (see Table 4). Two factors may account for these differences:

1. Students may have been more interested in the content areas of growth and development, emotional and mental health, and substance use and abuse because of the content alone or because the content areas had not been previously included as a part of the curriculum.

Table 4

Two-way Analysis of Variance Comparing Mean Scores of Students in the Experimental Group

on Various Health Areas

Health Areas m F

Nutrition/Growth and Development NutritiodFamily Health Nutrition/Emotional and Mental Health Nutrition/Substance Abuse Growth and Development/Family Health Growth and Development/Emotional and Mental Health Growth and Development/Substance Use and Abuse Family Health/Emotional and Mental Health Family Health/Substance Use and Abuse Emotioval and Mental Health/Substance Use and Abuse

26.63/46.8 1 26.63/27.75 26.63/36.4 1 26.63/37.61 46.8 1 /27.74 46.8 V36.41 46.81/37.61 27.74/36.4 1 27.74/37.6 1 36.41/37.61

73.2409* 0.1898 6.6298*

1 2,7OO6* 54.4291* 7.4016* 8.76 16* 4.8390* 9.1890* 0.077 1

464

* p<.o5

THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH OCTOBER 1977

2. The teacher may have presented more motivating strategies or materials in the three content areas. The following recommendations of the study were made:

1 . Elementary teachers continue teaching health education;

2. The school district continue to provide opportuni- ties for teachers to participate in elementary health education in-service programs;

3. A similar study be conducted to evaluate the five content areas not studied here; and

4. Future studies, more controlled, out the length of time for teaching materials to be used, be conducted.

studies spelling procedures and

REFERENCES 1 . APHA Education for Health in the Community Setting.

2. Michigan Department of Education Minimal Performance

3. Engs R, Barnes S E , Wantz M: Health Games Students Play.

Position paper, presented in New Orleans, 1974.

Objectives for Health Education in Michigan, Lansing, 1974.

Dubuque, Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co, 1975.

4. Nickerson CJ : Health curriculum: From theory to reality. J Sch

5 . School Health Education Study: Health Education: A Con-

6. Coleman RF: Seminars for teachers of adolescents. JSch Health

7. Davis RL: New models for health curriculum and teacher

8. Litchfield RB: A school system with a comprehensive program

9. Olsen LK: A suggested model for assessing teacher performance.

Health 39:243-246, 1969.

ceptual Approach to Curriculum Design. St. Paul, 3M, 1968.

42~345-347, 1972.

training. Sch Health Rev 5:33-36, 1974.

in health education. J Sch Health 42:235-239, 1973.

J Sch Health 42:224-228. 1973.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Alan W. Ellsburg, the Southeastern Michigan Dairy Council, and the American Dental Association for their valuable contributions during this study.

Molly S. Wantz, EdS, is Assistant Professor, Depart- ment of Physiology and Health Science, Ball State University, 2000 University Avenue, Muncie, Indiana 47306 (corresponding author). Martha DuShaw, RN, MEd, is Coordinator of Health Education, Troy School District, 4400 Livernois, Troy, Michigan 48084.

OCTOBER 1977 THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH 465