Applying the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy from Public Health Interventions to Educational Research

Abstract

Public health research has developed a deep understanding of ways to help people live healthier lives through scalable interventions that change their behaviors. This work offers valuable insights for supporting learners in educational contexts, especially for improving self-regulation and goal-directed behaviors like completing a course of study-a persistent issue in formal and information post-secondary education. We present the widely adopted Behavior Change Technique (BCT) taxonomy as a model for systematically cataloging interventions in education and as a resource for inspiring new interventions in education based on public health evidence. Approaching the issue of learner attrition from the BCT perspective, we show how recent educational interventions fit into the BCT taxonomy and how the taxonomy can be used to develop new evidence-based intervention approaches. Borrowing insights from decades of public health research can advance parallel efforts in education to help learners at scale to stay on track and reach their academic goals.