The contribution of school health education to community health promotion: what can we reasonably expect?

Evaluative studies of outcomes of traditional school health education programs have shown that they are very effective in increasing knowledge, somewhat effective in improving attitudes, and, with few notable exceptions, generally ineffective in changing health practices. This paper discusses the previous reviews of the literature of outcomes of school health education programs, and discusses the constraints inherent in school-based activities; an emphasis on cognitive learning, lecture-oriented teaching methods, inadequate pupil assessment procedures, a captive audience, competing subject areas, competing behavioral influences, behavior change attempts directed at ingrained health habits, inadequate coordination with community resources, and lack of consensus regarding educational goals. The paper then examines several recent successful school health education programs emphasizing non-traditional approaches in self-initiated care, pregnancy prevention, smoking prevention, and nutrition. It is concluded that school-based health education programs have three important roles in community health promotion: 1. the provision of a fundamental understanding of health and disease concepts to large segments of the population; 2. the reinforcement of positive health attitudes; and 3. the alteration of concurrent health behaviors for significant health problems. Although school health education may be helpful in enhancing decision-making and social interaction skills, little empirical evidence exists at this time to support this conclusion.