Science Teachers as Public Health Educators - The Critical Role of K-12 Science Teachers in Communicating Accurate Information About SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

Policy brief analyzing how K–12 science teachers function as public health educators during COVID-19. It highlights the continuing risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 variants, vaccine hesitancy, and pandemic fatigue, and asks how teachers cover COVID in classrooms. A national survey of 2,330 teachers and follow-up interviews with 40 teachers describe classroom approaches, reliance on trusted health sources, and students’ questions as a key entry point for discussion. Results inform ongoing support needs for accurate, equitable communication.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Study

Findings

Classroom coverage of COVID

Information sources teachers trust

Student questions as an entry point

March 2022 POLICY BRIEF SCIENCE TEACHERS AS PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATORS THE CRITICAL ROLE OFK–12 SCIENCE TEACHERS IN COMMUNICATING ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT SARS-COV-2AND COVID-19 PEGGY J. TRYGSTAD & P. SEAN SMITH INTRODUCTION In early 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Since then, tens of thousands of science teachers in the United States have been doing their best to answer student questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 .1 For biology/life science teachers, the pandemic presents areal-world opportunity to engage students in the science of viruses and how to reduce their transmission. But biology teachers have not been alone in fielding student questions. High school chemistry and physics teachers, middle school general science teachers, and elementary teachers have all responded to students’ needs for information and reassurance. In this way, teachers across grade levels have served an important function as public health educators. Variants of SARS-CoV-2 are still circulating widely, posing a significant threat to human health and wellbeing. In the United States alone, nearly one million individuals have died from the virus (Johns Hopkins University, 2022) while numerous others battle short-and long-term health effects. And although effective vaccines are now readily available to those as young as five years old, vaccine hesitancy persists (CDC, 2022) . Further, individuals are increasingly experiencing “pandemic fatigue” as maskwearing, hand-washing, and social distancing practices have infiltrated their daily lives for more than two years (WHO, 2020) . If the United States is to continue making progress toward eradicating this virus, it is more important than ever to ensure that accurate, up-to-date information is available and consistently communicated. The United States school system, which consists of over 1 million science teachers and 50 million students, is a reasonable and effective avenue for conveying scientific information about COVID. But, to what extent do science teachers address this topic in their classrooms? When they do, where do they get their information, and is it reliable? Further, what additional support do they need to serve this role even more effectively? THE STUDY Horizon Research, Inc. conducted a national survey of 2,330 K–12 science teachers and follow-up interviews with a sample of 40 teachers to understand their decision making and resulting instruction 1 Throughout the remainder of this document, we use the term “COVID” to refer to both the virus and the disease. However, we use the individual terms if we are specifically referring to one or the other. Horizon Research, Inc. 1 Science Teachers as Public Health Educators about COVID during the 2019–20 academic year. The study provides (1) important information about the ways in which science teachers serve as public health educators in response to the pandemic and (2) suggestions for how to support them in this capacity going forward. FINDINGS Most science teachers addressed COVID in their classrooms, irrespective of the school and community contexts in which they worked. The survey found that despite viruses not usually being a part of their curriculum, three-fourths or more of science teachers at each grade band (elementary, middle, high) devoted class time to COVID. Although life science teachers were more likely than non-life science teachers to address COVID at both the middle and high school levels, it is noteworthy that approximately 70 percent of non-life science teachers also took up the topic. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the frequency with which science teachers took up the topic based on political leaning of the county (Democratic or Republican), community type (urban, suburban, or rural), percentage of students in the school eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or percentage of students in the school from underrepresented minority

FAQs

Why does the brief emphasize science teachers’ role during COVID-19?

It argues that teachers serve as public health educators by providing accurate, up-to-date information to students, supporting understanding of viruses and ways to reduce transmission.

How was the study conducted?

Horizon Research, Inc. used a national survey of 2,330 K–12 science teachers and follow-up interviews with 40 teachers to examine decision-making and classroom instruction about COVID.

What did teachers rely on when searching for information about COVID?

Teachers commonly used trusted health organization websites such as the CDC, Johns Hopkins University, NIH, and the WHO, and they also helped students evaluate information sources to combat misinformation.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian