The relationship of principals' attitudes toward health instruction and their reported status of health instruction programs

Author

Joseph D. Rutherford

Date of Award

8-1986

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Health Promotion and Health Education

Major Professor

Robert H. Kirk

Committee Members

June Gorski, George Harris, Bill Wallace, Dewey Stollar

Abstract

The major purposes of this study were threefold: to determine the attitudes of East Tennessee secondary principals toward health instruction, to assess the status of health instruction in East Tennes see secondary schools, and to determine if there was a correlation between principals' attitudes toward health instruction and their assessed status of the health instruction program under their supervision. In order to accomplish these stated purposes, two questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 80 secondary principals in the East Tennes see area. Fifty-eight usable questionnaires were returned, and they were treated by descriptive analysis. The relationship between attitudes and health instruction programs were analyzed by the calculation of the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient.

The instruments used in this study were adopted from Zacour and Bailey and validated by a jury of professionals and through a pilot study. A descriptive analysis was used to summarize the data from the questionnaires. The principals responded to statements concerning the current practices that were being followed in the health instruction programs in their schools with either a yes, no or don't know.

From the analysis of the data it was found that there were some differences in the assessed status of school health instruction programs among the reporting principals. They reported the following program practices as having the largest numbers of differences: a long range plan for fully implementing the health education program, the rating of the health instruction program as being as important as other subject areas, the integration of health instruction with other subject areas to avoid repetition or omission, and the offering of an extra course in addition to the Tennessee State Department of Education's required one semester of health education.

The attitudes of the principals toward health instruction were varied in most areas. The major differences among the principals were the following: the subject matter of secondary health instruction courses being too repetitious from the elementary curriculums to hold pupil interest, the need for another health class in the curriculum, the insistence that community health needs be a part of the curriculum, and the addition of an extra health class to the requirements of princi pal certification.

The areas that principals were in agreement were the following: health instruction acquainting the student with health related problems of modern living, health teachers having the same opportunities as other teachers for Tennessee Career Ladder advancements, curriculum goals as being a part of the health instruction program, and the participation of community health agencies in the curriculum.

The attitudes and reported program practices of the reporting principals were analyzed by dividing the sample into junior and senior high school principals. There were no major differences between the two groups' participation either in attitude or in program practices.

The rank order correlation coefficient between the scores of the principals on the attitude toward health instrument and the scores of the principals on the program status instrument were .1877 for all reporting principals, .1570 for reporting senior high principals, and .3155 for reporting junior high principals.

Based on the findings of this study, the conclusions drawn were the following:

1. The attitudes of East Tennessee secondary principals toward health instruction were not consistent within their ranks.

2. Reporting principals generally agreed on their reported status of health instruction programs in East Tennessee secondary schools.

3. Secondary principals' attitudes toward health instruction varied significantly from their reported status of the health instruction programs under their supervision.

Recommended Citation

Rutherford, Joseph D., "The relationship of principals' attitudes toward health instruction and their reported status of health instruction programs. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1986.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/12464