Health Education in the teacher training programmes from a European Higher Education Area perspective

Abstract

The schoolteacher is the cornerstone of the development of Health Promotion and Education in schools, which is why training in this area is of vital importance. The new undergraduate degrees adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EEES in Spain) consider including the basic training module, Early Childhood, Health and Nutrition in the Pre-school Education Degree, as long as there is no requirement to include health-related aspects in the Primary Education degree. The introduction of these programmes has led to the first cohort of graduates; therefore, the object of our work is to identify the knowledge, training needs and capabilities of our students with regard to Health Promotion and Education, as well as analyzing the differences according to which degree is being taken. An observational, descriptive, transversal study was carried out. The group was formed by all the students studying 4th year of the degrees in both Pre-school and Primary Education at University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The tool used for gathering data was a questionnaire specifically drawn up for this research. The results show statistically significant differences between students studying the Pre-school Education degree and those studying the Primary School Education degree regarding knowledge about the inclusion of health content in the curriculum and also about Health Promoting Schools. This is also the case as regards the perception of better methodological training, and better skills when educating students in healthy habits. This all seems to show that the inclusion of a basic training subject of Health Education in the Pre-school Education degree programme has contributed to the development of a better perception of the knowledge and capabilities necessary to implement Health Promotion and Education strategies in schools.