A general systems perspective : the relative effectiveness of teaching cardiovascular fitness

In order to depict diffusion and utilization patterns within the high school setting, it was theorized that a general systems model could be constructed to depict the answer to the following questions regarding a health instruction program:

1. What are the major units in the community that diffuse or utilize various materials on cardiovascular fitness?

2. What are the major patterns and linkages that established various communication channels to the high school level of instruction?

3. What are the perceived barriers preventing transmission and translation of this information?

4. Where are the specific locations where specific component problems occur in diffusion and utilization of cardiovascular fitness informa tion to the instructional subsystem within the high school?

5. What processes can be initiated to solve these problems?

In order to collect the data necessary to depict the utilization and diffusion of cardiovascular fitness information within the instructional level of a high school setting, a questionnaire was constructed and validated. Two areas, consisting of city and county in Metropolitan Knoxville within the East Tennessee Region served as the community that this study was based on. Area supervisors in biology and physical education and health and home economics were selected from each area. In Area 1, 23 of the 35 questionnaires delivered were returned. In Area 2, 27 of the 35 questionnaires were returned. An overall 69.4 percent rate of response was reported. Along with the four supervisors interviewed, a total sample of 5I respondents were utilized for analytical purposes. Nonrespondents were interviewed in a face-to-face situation. No specific characteristics of the nonrespondents that would systematically bias the results were reported.

Three models were constructed. The General Systems-Environment Model served as a common frame of reference to depict what the system should be. The Spatial-Structural Model depicted what the system actually was. A comparison of the two models identified areas of discrepancies. A Process Model - A Transformation Model was selected from the writings of Banathy to depict a solution process.

By depicting the data using the model format the following findings were reported:

1. Most of the linkages were related to two agencies; the East Tennessee Chapter of the American Heart Association and the University of Tennessee’s testing program.

2. Written statements regarding goals, objectives and functions depicted few relationships to specific knowledge and to the current status of cardiovascular disease.

3. Common agreement between all teachers and their supervisors was low. 4. Goal, objectives and function attainment was poor. 5. Only 28 percent of the 47 valid cases for teachers reported actively planning curriculum changes.

6. Lack of knowledge and feedback breakdowns were perceived as specific barriers to better teaching/learning of cardiovascular disease information.

7. No journals or periodicals were specifically documented.

Based on the findings of this study it was concluded that a general systems perspective could be used to model the teaching effectiveness with respect to cardiovascular fitness information. An instructional program within the high school setting existed that was stable, static, and independent with respect to its environment. Wholeness or systemization was not evident.

A solution process was modelled based on a mutual support system with an emphasis on integrating the specific system components.