Teachers’ and Principals’ Familiarity with School Wellness Policy: A Health Promoting Schools Assessment

Matthew Chrisman (), Anita Skarbek, Patricia Endsley and Nicholas Marchello
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Matthew Chrisman: School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA
Anita Skarbek: School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA
Patricia Endsley: School of Education and Counseling, Cambridge College, Boston, MA 02129, USA
Nicholas Marchello: Department of Nutrition, Kinesiology, and Health, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: The current study explored teacher and principal familiarity with school wellness polices in primary schools, including who serves on school wellness committees, and who should implement and enforce wellness policies in the school. An electronic survey guided by the Health Promoting Schools framework was administered from February to May 2020 to teachers and principals from one urban and one suburban school district in the Midwestern United States. There were 450 participants; response rates were 28% (urban), 33% (suburban), and 51% (school principals). Only 41.7% of the aggregate participant pool were familiar with their wellness policy. Participants were more familiar in the suburban compared to the urban district (χ 2 = 68.2, p -value ≤ 0.001). Teachers/health teachers, nurses, and principals were most likely to be on wellness committees, and the most preferred wellness champions were teachers, nurses, and food service staff. Teachers and nurses are integral to school wellness and health education as part of multiple systems that can promote school health. The Health Promoting Schools framework is useful for guiding examinations to improve understanding of school wellness within school communities.

Keywords: school wellness; teachers; principals; school nurses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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