Graduate teachers need more information to promote physical activity, sun safety and sleep health to school children across Australia and New Zealand, according to new research.
The University of the Sunshine Coast survey of almost 100 teacher educators working at universities across both countries, found a large proportion were unsure if their graduates would be able to confidently plan and teach lessons related to:
- physical activity (28 percent)
- sun safety (42 percent)
- and sleep health (75 percent)
While there were minimal differences between Australia and New Zealand, most teacher educators reported very little time spent (less than three hours, to no time) on physical activity, sun safety and sleep content in their programs.
Lead author of the research Dr Joseph Scott, a Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education at UniSC, said the findings highlighted potential for improvement.
"Physical activity, sun safety and sleep content are crucial to establishing healthy habits in young people, and teachers are in a unique position of influence to promote it," Dr Scott said.
"But there's no standardised requirement to ensure all future teachers have deep knowledge of these, and other specific health behaviours.
"This study has shown the degree to which different universities teach this content varies greatly. Some teacher educators reported their programs might contain no sun safety or sleep content at all, which is concerning.
"Teachers are highly influential role models for young people and improving their knowledge of this content, and how we deliver it, is an important piece of the puzzle."
According to national health data, more than 90 percent of young people are not meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines, with many also not meeting sleep guidelines.
Additionally, Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.
Sally Blane, Manager of SunSmart at Cancer Council WA, said sunburn and sun overexposure in childhood significantly increased the likelihood of developing skin cancer later in life.
"Skin cancer is Australia's most common cancer and is almost entirely preventable. It is imperative that teachers are properly educated about UV and skin cancer prevention, and are trained to teach lessons related to this content," Ms Blane said.
Dr Scott said the findings demonstrated a need for teacher education providers to examine how their programs could better equip teaching graduates.
"We can't expect teachers to simply be equipped with the knowledge to educate students on this subject matter if they're not being taught it," he said.
"We encourage teacher educators and tertiary institutions to look at their programs and see if they're adequately preparing pre-service teachers in these important health areas."
