A QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: TEACHER HEALTH KNOWLEDGE, HEALTH ATTITUDES, AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS

The majority of professional development program evaluations focus on the professional growth of the teacher. However, when the program is centered on health and aging topics, one cannot help but wonder how the teachers have incorporated health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors into their personal lives. Through in-depth interviews, this study qualitatively evaluated a teacher professional development program focusing on nutrition, diabetes, obesity, and physical exercise. The stories shared by these teachers revealed their struggles with identity, their perceptions of others, and that knowledge alone is not sufficient to change behavior. Teachers who were successful were knowledgeable, demonstrated high levels of self-efficacy, and had made personal commitments. This study also stresses the importance of persistence; individuals need the knowledge base to make informed decisions and the support and encouragement to maintain the behaviors throughout their lives. This analysis should be useful to professionals in Health Education as well as those interested in how individuals apply knowledge.

Cheryl L. Blalock, Master of Science, Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio. Research Education Coordinator, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. T.S. Sunil, Ph.D., Sociology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX. Associate Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio.