Improving Pre-Service Elementary Teachers' Self-Reported Efficacy for Using the Professional Teacher Standards in Health Education

Overview & Synopsis

Background: The effectiveness of health education methods courses for pre-service elementary teachers has not been assessed for improving the pre-service elementary teacher's self-efficacy for using the professional teacher standards in health education (PTSHE). Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to assess pre-service elementary teachers' self-efficacy toward using the PTSHE. Four institutions whose elementary education programs provide a health education methods course were recruited to participate in the study. Students were recruited to participate and they completed the Pre-service Health Education National Standards Self-efficacy (PHENSS) Scale at the beginning and end of the semester. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 15) software. Results: A significant increase in the PHENSS Scale scores indicated that a 3-credit health education methods course could improve the pre-service elementary teacher's self-efficacy to use the national standards in their teaching of health education. Further analysis indicated statistically significant improvement of the participants' PHENSS scores in 2 of the 7 standards. Conclusion: Teacher self-efficacy can be a useful measure of the pre-service elementary teachers' ability to use the national standards for health education. The design of the methods course may affect the PHENSS scores.