Prevalence of Certain Harmful Health Misconceptions among Prospective Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

A special instrument in the form of a health opinionnaire was constructed, evaluated, and administered for the purpose of determining the prevalence of certain harmful health misconceptions among freshman prospective elementary school teachers attending state teachers colleges in New England and the extent to which that population was aware of the harmfulness of these misconceptions. Analysis indicated that the participating trainees subscribed to many harmful health misconceptions and that those who were aware of the misconceptions were also aware of their harmfulness. Analysis of variance indicated that those who had health and biology or biology subscribed to fewer misconceptions to a highly significant degree.