Developing Pre-service Teachers’ Competencies of the Management of Students’ Allergies in the School Environment

Abstract

Managing allergic reactions of students in schools can pose significant stress to teachers’ work. Consequently, a systematic and effective educational programme should be developed for pre- and in-service teachers. The purpose of this chapter is to present the importance of pre-service teachers’ competencies for the management of an allergic child among pre-service teachers. In the first part of the chapter, the importance of teachers’ medical competencies is presented in the wider framework of the teachers’ competencies. Further on, some conclusions of the first study conducted in Slovenian context regarding pre-service teachers’ medical competencies are presented. The chapter concludes with the evaluation of the educational programme in allergy management. A total of 62 pre-service teachers participated in this evaluation pre-post design study. The participants completed a questionnaire three times, before, immediately after, and 14 days after the course. The results indicate that there was a statistically significant difference in students’ scores across the three times of measurements (p ≤ 0.000). It can be concluded that pre-service teachers need competencies for managing an allergic child in the school environment. The educational programme in allergy management has positive effects on pre-service teachers’ medical competencies. Further research should be conducted in further developing the educational programme, to apply it to other frequent medical cases that could happen in the school environment and to understand teachers’ and students’ quality of life and if teachers are aware of specific situations concerning students’ well-being that could occur in school.