Teachers' attitudes to cancer education: a discussion in the light of a recent English survey.

Various attempts have been made at encouraging cancer education in British schools, and while some have had limited success, there is still a reluctance amongst teachers to adopt this subject in the classroom. The study discussed in this paper was an attempt to ascertain the current status of cancer education in English secondary education. Over 1,200 English secondary (11-16 years olds) schools took part and the data were collected between February and June 1990. Although there is evidence to suggest an element of self-selection, results from this sample indicate a growing commitment and enthusiasm for cancer education, in comparison to previous, similar studies. Over half the teachers had taught about cancer and 68.8% rated it an important health education topic. However, cancer did rate lowest out of a variety of health issues. Several reasons for this are discussed and all appear to relate to teachers' negative attitudes toward cancer, apparently based on preconception and misinformation. These must be overcome if cancer education is to achieve its true potential in English schools.