Secondary Teachers Self-reported Importance and Comfort Teaching Rankings of Selected Health and Physical Education Topics

A survey was e-mailed to 346 secondary (9th-12th grade) health and physical education teachers during the fall of 2013.  Ninety-six teachers completed the on-line survey for a response rate of 27.7%.  The primary purpose of this study was to assess the comfort and importance levels that the teachers felt regarding various health and physical education topics. Examination of the results showed that none of the 16 health education topics or the 12 physical education responses studied were statistically different (p<.05) based on the teachers sex, age, undergraduate or graduate major, or coaching responsibilities.  Response patterns for the 16 health education topics studied showed a consistent pattern of topics reported as most important also being the topics teachers reported to be most comfortable teaching.  For example, the topics teachers reported as most important to teach were alcohol & drug use (mean of 3.85 out of 4), tobacco use (3.78) and teen pregnancy (3.69). The health topics teachers reported as least important were death and dying (2.27), consumer health (2.17), and sexual orientation (2.13).  The health education topics teachers reported to be most comfortable teaching included; physical activity (3.83), alcohol & drug use (3.81), and tobacco use (3.77). The topics teachers reported to be least comfortable teaching included:  partnerships/domestic violence (3.21); consumer health (3.17); and sexual orientation (2.78).  A similar pattern of results were observed for the selected physical education topics. Implications for the development of professional development training targeting secondary health and physical education teachers will be discussed.