Let’s Ask the Teachers: A Qualitative Analysis of Health Education in Schools and Its Effectiveness

Abstract

There is a need for action in health promotion for children and adolescents. Schools are assumed to be an appropriate place to enable students to behave healthily. Numerous interventions have been piloted in schools, but sustained implementation appears challenging. An alternative approach might be to ask teachers how they conduct health education and what they see as effective. Accordingly, we conducted an explorative study using semi-structured interviews with eleven teachers from secondary schools in Germany in 2019. The interviews focused on different aspects of health education: goals, methods and strategies, effectiveness, possible barriers, and ways to reduce them. We inductively identified six dimensions of effectiveness that teachers believe are relevant for effective health teaching in schools. Regarding methods and strategies, many were mentioned, but only a part was explicitly named as effective. Most of these strategies focus on improving students’ knowledge and skills, followed by strengthening health-promoting attitudes, but rarely promote long-term behavior change. Moreover, it became apparent that some aspects, such as goalsetting and developing action plans, received little attention in lessons, even though they are considered important for successful behavior change.