Teacher training as a behavior change process: principles and results from a longitudinal study

Health Educ Behav. 2000 Feb;27(1):64-81. doi: 10.1177/109019810002700107.

Abstract

For students to realize the benefits of behavior change curricula for disease prevention, programs must be implemented effectively. However, implementation failure is a common problem documented in the literature. In this article, teacher training is conceptualized as a behavior change process with explicit teacher motivation components included to help effect the intended behavior (i.e., implementation). Using this method, the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project, a randomized controlled trial in school-based smoking prevention, conducted 65 in-service programs, training nearly 500 teachers (Grades 3-10) from 72 schools. Implementation was monitored by teacher self-report and classroom observations by project staff. The results were favorable. All eligible teachers received training, virtually all trained teachers implemented the research curriculum, and 89% of observed lessons worked as intended. It is concluded that teacher training conceptualized as a behavior change process and including explicit teacher motivation components can promote effective implementation of behavior change curricula in public school classrooms.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attitude to Health*
  • Child
  • Curriculum
  • Faculty*
  • Health Behavior*
  • Health Education / organization & administration*
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Inservice Training / organization & administration*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Motivation
  • Organizational Innovation
  • Program Development / methods
  • Program Evaluation
  • School Health Services / organization & administration*
  • Smoking / psychology*
  • Smoking Prevention*
  • Washington