Background: Health education (HE) courses in schools are vital paths for improving teenagers' health literacy. HE and physical education (PE) teachers lead HE courses, and their teaching intentions and competency influence the effectiveness of the courses and the ability to promote students' health literacy. This study attempted to understand HE…

Background: Teen Prevention Education Program (PEP) is a school-wide, peer-led comprehensive sexuality education program currently implemented in more than 50 schools across 2 states. Many teen pregnancy prevention researchers and practitioners view peer-led programs as a promising approach for reducing teen pregnancy and associated sexual risk…

Background: Physical activity (PA) is associated with health and academic benefits among children, but many schools do not meet national recommendations. This study examined school-based PA practices in nationally representative samples of public elementary schools, and geographic variations in those practices. Methods: Mail-back surveys were used…

Background: School-based interventions are critical for enhancing the health of youth. The "Goals for Health (GFH)" school-based project was a goal-setting and life-skills intervention conducted in rural areas to increase self-efficacy, knowledge, and positive behaviors related to healthy eating. The intervention was peer-led with high…

Background: Children's health is an important indicator of community health because children are especially vulnerable to disease. The school setting is ideal for assessing these vulnerabilities and prevalence of disease, yet the methods that produce high participation among students and their families are not usually described or evaluated. This…

To examine sexuality education in Flanders, teachers and principals were surveyed at 400 secondary schools. Respondents had positive attitudes toward school-based sexuality education, but time devoted to it was too restricted. The teaching strategies were not effective enough to change attitudes and behaviors regarding contraception and AIDS…

This study provides information about prevention and control practices in intervention and comparison secondary schools 2 years after the start-up of the Texas Tobacco Prevention Initiative. The intervention, which was funded through the Texas Department of State Health Services, consisted of guidance, training, technical assistance, and…

Six articles describe the background, design, methods, findings, and implications of the 1986-89 Teenage Health Teaching Modules Evaluation study which (1) determined whether one comprehensive secondary school health education curriculum could positively affect student health knowledge, attitudes, practices, and self-reported behaviors; and (2)…

A statewide survey of secondary school teachers examined the scope of HIV education they provided and training needs they perceived. Questionnaire data indicated 75% taught HIV education. Most were self-trained, felt uncomfortable, wanted more training, and perceived others to be supportive. Middle school teachers faced the most barriers. (SM)

Reports on a study that examined the comfort level of eighth-grade teachers who used nontraditional teaching strategies in sexuality education classes. Surveys indicated that most were comfortable teaching sexuality education, though a quarter to a third never or rarely used nontraditional strategies such as role playing, small group discussion,…