The views of learners regarding a school-based health education programme

Abstract

The importance of schools as a setting for health promotion is increasingly being acknowledged. Part of this health promoting function includes curricular offerings to increase health awareness and to assist in
ensuring that young adults are able to make informed decisions about their health. For these programmes to be successfully implemented and sustained there is a need to determine the views of the participants. This study aims to determine the views of learners regarding the impact of a school based health education programme relating to risk factors for chronic diseases of lifestyle. A questionnaire with three open ended questions was used to determine the views of the learners regarding the
programme, what they would like to have changed and recommendations regarding the future of the programme. Information was recorded and coded by two independent reviewers. Themes were decided upon independently and agreed upon between the author and an independent reviewer. Focusing on the comments relating to what was good about the programme, three main themes emerged which included course structure, course content and personal development. The themes that emerged from what the students did not like about the programme included communication, group interaction/personal factors and feedback. The recommendations and suggestions were mostly positive and included focusing on the following aspects of the programme namely more interaction, content, links to other subjects and time. The opinions of participants provided valuable information during the evaluation process and the qualitative method allowed them to express their views.