Changes in Pre-Service Teacher Personal and Professional Attitudes Following a Comprehensive School Health Course

Oct 15, 2026

Comprehensive school health (CSH) is used as a framework to help teachers deliver health-related content and advance health promotion across the school community. In this study, 222 Bachelor of Education students completed surveys at the start and end of a required six-week CSH course with a body weight-neutral focus. After the course, participants showed significantly more positive attitudes toward CSH, higher self-efficacy for teaching through CSH, and improved weight-related attitudes, supporting CSH as a practical approach for strengthening wellness in schools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Comprehensive School Health

Changes in Pre-Service Teacher Personal and Professional Attitudes Following a Comprehensive School Health Course Sarah Nutter University of Victoria Jessica F. Saunders Clark University Isabel Brun University of Calgary Deinera Exner-Cortens University of Calgary Shelly Russell-Mayhew University of Calgary Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 45:1 (2022)©2022 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Abstract Comprehensive school health (CSH) is a framework that can support teachers in the delivery of health-related content as well as supporting health promotion within the school community. In this study, 222 Bachelor of Education students completed surveys at the beginning and end of a mandatory six-week course on CSH with a body weight-neutral focus. Following the course, participants had significantly positively increased attitudes toward CSH, self-efficacy to teach using CSH, and weight-related attitudes. These results support CSH as a useful framework for teachers in their future practice to improve the wellness of students, teachers, and the broader school community. Keywords: Comprehensive School Health, pre-service teachers, self-efficacy, body image, weight bias Résumé L’approche globale de la santé en milieu scolaire (AGSS) est un système développé pour aider les enseignants à fournir des contenus liés à la santé et à soutenir la promotion de lasanté au sein de la communauté scolaire. Dans cette étude, 222 étudiants du baccalauréaten Éducation ont répondu à des sondages au début et à la fin d’un cours obligatoire de 6 semaines sur l’AGSS. À la suite du cours, les résultats des participants s’étaient considérablement améliorés dans les catégories suivantes : leurs attitudes envers l’AGSS, l’autoefficacité d’enseigner en utilisant l’AGSS, et leurs attitudes liées au poids. Ces résultatsappuient l’AGSS en tant que système utile pour les enseignants dans leur pratique future afin d’améliorer le bien-être des élèves, des enseignants et de la communauté scolaire engénéral. Mots-clés : santé scolaire globale, enseignants en formation initiale, autoefficacité, image corporelle, préjugés à l’égard du poids Canadian Journal of Education /Revue canadienne del’éducation 45:1 (2022) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Introduction Schools are being increasingly recognized by governments as ideal locations for health promotion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019; Government of Canada, 2013; UK Department for Education, 2010). Engaging students of all ages in physical activity and healthy lifestyles is an important public health goal, with both significant benefits for the physical and mental health outcomes of students as well as improved academic performance (Bassett-Gunter et al., 2016; Watson et al., 2017) . Despite evidence that healthy children are better able to learn and succeed in school, teachers have reported ongoing pressure to focus on academic subjects to the neglect of health-related curriculum (Bonell et al., 2014; Thackeray et al., 2013). Bonell and colleagues (2014) noted that a general rationale for emphasizing academic subjects over health-related content is the belief that decreased academic learning time will correspond with decreased academic attainment. However, in nations with strong academic achievement records, the overall well-being and healthy development of students actually receives increased attention (Bonell et al., 2014), suggesting that an increased focus on health and well-being is connected to improvements in academics as well (Michael et al., 2015) . In addition to an emphasis on academic instruction, teachers may also feel unprepared to teach a health-related curriculum and/or engage in health-promoting school initiatives. Researchers have found that teachers experience multiple barriers to teaching health, including discomfort with hea

FAQs

What framework does the course use for supporting health education in schools?

The course uses Comprehensive School Health (CSH), an internationally recognized framework that coordinates actions across the whole school community.

How was the course structured and who participated?

A required six-week CSH course was completed by 222 Bachelor of Education pre-service teachers, with surveys collected at the beginning and end.

What changes were observed after the course?

After completion, participants reported significantly more positive attitudes toward CSH, increased self-efficacy for teaching with CSH, and improved weight-related attitudes.

Oct 15, 2026

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