Feeling healthy: how teacher personal health beliefs influence roles for promoting student health

Abstract

Per evidence-based frameworks, the health of faculty and staff is integral to the school health environment. However, little empirical evidence exists to support the relationship between healthy teachers and healthy students. Thus, this study explored the cognitive association between teachers’ perceptions of personal health beliefs and organizational roles for promoting health in students. Teachers from six public school districts in the state of Missouri, USA, varying in size from 2000 to greater than 10,000 students, participated in the study (n = 197). Data were collected using a 107 item online questionnaire. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to analyse the data. On average, teachers felt capable promoting healthy attitudes and behaviours in students, but generally did not consider it as part of their organizational role. While significant correlations between teacher personal health beliefs and role perceptions were identified (r = .155 − .477, p < .05), only teacher interest in health significantly accounted for a portion of the variance associated with teacher role breadth (ΔR² = .034, p = .007) over and above covariates. This study highlights teacher feelings of competence for promoting health in students and the potential relevance of personal health beliefs as an avenue to encourage broader organizational roles. However, results suggest that teacher health beliefs may only be a small factor in the construction of health promoting roles. Such roles may have less to do with inherent feelings about health and more to do with the structural factors that define and support them.

Keywords:

• School health
• teacher health
• personal health beliefs
• teacher roles