Teachers as Health Champions

Teachers play a critical role in health promotion in schools, whether it is through giving students helpful information, correcting misconceptions and biases, or modeling healthy behaviors in the school. For Dr. Shelly Russell-Mayhew, educators’ approach to weight-related issues is a particular concern.

Some teachers may be unaware of their impact as a health role model. A lack of training in dimensions of health and wellness (i.e., physical, social, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, occupational, and environmental) leaves others unprepared for and confused about their role in addressing weight concerns.

Teachers that deliver health education may even have misinformed views and may be at risk for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Preparing teachers with the knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors to model and promote positive weight-related behaviours is therefore essential.

That’s where Dr. Russell-Mayhew and a team of health and psychology educators from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Ever Active Schools came in. Leading a professional development workshop, they assessed how training about weight-related issues could address the pre-service teachers’ attitudes on weight, and prepare them to address these issues in schools. The topics in the session covered body image, size acceptance, healthy school environments, and physical activity.

The results from the three-hour workshop for pre-service teachers showed that negative weight biases were reduced, and beliefs about their ability to appropriately address weight-related issues were increased. This can influence appropriate teaching practices that promote greater health and well-being for students, addressing weight-related issues in schools for children of all shapes and sizes.

For Teachers

• All teachers can contribute and create an environment for school wellness
• Incorporate lessons which critically examine the weight-related messages students encounter
• Consider their knowledge of weight-related issues, attitudes, and behaviours
• Use instances of bias in everyday interactions (e.g. in the media, in conversations) as teachable moments to address these issues

*This research was funded in part by the Alberta Advisory Committee for Educational Studies (AACES) and the Alberta Centre for Child Family and Community Research (ACCFCR)*