MY SCHOOL by Dr .Nilesh Gopal das Joshi (beginner reading books for adults .txt) 📕

will be a burden to himself and to the nation.

Meaning of Health Education

Health education is the integration of two terms “health” and “education”. Health denotes its content and education is the process. The process of education determines how learning takes place in the field of health. Thus health education implies education for health. It provides an educational field for the purpose of improving healthful living or effective living.

Health education implies healthy behaviour

“Health education”, as the term implies, is concerned with people and their behaviour. Healthy behaviour means what people understand, think, feel and do about their health. The overall purpose of health education is to bring aboutfavourable changes in health behaviour to improve living.

Health education is an applied science of healthful living

Health education may also be interpreted as the applied science of healthful living, since it draws much of its content from the health sciences such as anatomy, physiology, bacteriology, medicine and the applied sciences. It cannot be a pure science. Health education is not composed of all these sciences combined together. Rather it draws from them the purposeful applications that particularly pertain to more effective living. It is virtually concerned with educating people to live healthfully, to prevent disease and to take intelligent action when disease or defects occur.

Health education includes scientific knowledge to plan wholesome attitude

The subjects like education, psychology, educational psychology and sociology provide us knowledge about understanding methods and activities that assist the individual in changing his behaviour for more effective living in his environment. Health education is not something done for the individual. It is not memorising of health facts. Rather it is the provision of opportunities for individuals and groups to participate in experiences for healthful living. It includes scientific knowledge, wholesome attitude and practices, leading to improved health behaviour.

Health education is an art of living.

Health education is teaching students the art of living. It is a process, which affects changes in the health practices of students and in the knowledge and attitudes related to such changes.

Knowledge of Health is not Health Education

Health education does not imply taking the knowledge of health through the programme of health education. One must also practice it at all times. Our health depends on what we know.

Using scientific knowledge is Health Education

Using scientific knowledge to plan and act will bring maximum health to the individual, family and community.

Health education imparts principle of hygiene.

Health education is closely connected with the imparting of knowledge to the people about the principles of hygiene. The word ‘Hygiene’ has its root in the Greek word hyginos, which means, healthful. With the help of health education students are able to acquire and practise the knowledge of various principles of hygiene in their daily life.

Health Education Defined

According to Dr.Thomaswood: “Health education is the sum of experiences with favourable habits, attitudes and knowledge relating to individual, community and social health”.

Ruth Grout: “The translation of what is known about health into desirable individual and community behaviour patterns by means of the educational process.”

Scope of Health Education

A person’s health habits, attitudes and goals are the result of his learning and experiences. They are established first from what they are taught and what they see the family doing in home, then from imitating the habit of friends in the neighbourhood, in the school and at work. The child gains knowledge about health and hygiene from school. The scope of health education is very vast. It covers subjects like health protection programmes, remedial programme, promotion of health and hygiene, school health services, balanced diet, dental care, personal habits, mental health, knowledge about air, water, rest, exercise, recreation, sleep etc. Scope of health education includes:

Knowledge about growth and development. Knowledge about good food items, and their contribution to the proper growth and development of the human body. Knowledge about the significance of pure and clean water, fresh air, proper rest, physical exercise, recreation and sound sleep. Knowledge about the causes of various diseases, ailments, injuries and arrangements for their prevention. A knowledge about health standard of the people living in different countries of the world. Avoidance of evil habits like smoking, drinking, taking drugs and their evil effects on health. Abnormal conditions and their adverse effects on health. It also includes bad habits and their evil influences on the physical and mental health of the individual. To impart mass-scale information about mental health, sex-hygiene in order to ensure healthy bodies and healthy minds. To provide knowledge about different diseases, their prevention and control. Knowledge about recreation, rest, sleep and exercise.

Guiding principles of Health Instruction

L. Anderson, in his book “School Health Practice”, has given some basic principles of health instruction. They are still recognized as fundamental to sound and effective health instruction: Emphasis is on the positive side of health and not on the negative aspect. It means that the aim is to build up and maintain a high level of health in each child. Health is an end to be gained and not an academic subject. Instruction is directed to the well or normal child. Children, temporarily below par, will be benefited by the health practices, acquired by the whole class. Throughout school life, health promotion should be one of the objectives of the whole school programme. Learning experiences must be adapted to the physiological, psychological and social development of children. Instructions must be based on the child’s interests, needs, abilities and backgrounds. Learning results from experience and opportunities must be provided through participation, doing things and reacting to situations. Problem solving provides the most effective learning situation but only when the problems are real and meaningful to the learners. The objectives of any activity must be specified in terms of learner’s outcomes and must be recognised as personal goals by the child if learning is to effective. Instructional activities must always be related to the actual experiences of the learners. Learning experiences are most effective when the child sees the relationship to one experience to the whole experience. Integrated learning is most effective, and only when it becomes unified, it will be lasting. Both fragmental learning and isolated facts, are ineffective and soon forgotten. Repetition or drill is justified when the learning must be precise and is useful as a tool or skill. Each child is unique who learns at their own rate and in their own way, and thus a variety of activities and materials is essential. Accompanying incidental learning always takes place and teachers should be alert for opportunities to make each learning experience yield greater returns in learning.

Thus, it is clear that health instruction should be made as practical as possible. For this purpose, opportunities should be provided and availed of, in the school programme, in the neighbourhood and in outdoor activities, whereby pupils get new knowledge and imbibe good health habits.

Aim and objectives of health education and health instruction in schools

These are some of the main aims and objectives of health education in schools:

To provide information about health and hygiene – it aims at acquainting the pupils and the teachers with the functioning of the body, the rules of health and hygiene and the precautionary measures for warding off diseases. It is to be brought to notice of the pupils how bad habits, unhygienic ways of living, addiction to smoking and liquor and such unhealthy practices, result in evil consequences.  To maintain norms of good health - It helps the school authorities to keep certain norms or standards of health in the school. A number of programmes of physical health develop in the pupil’s adequate habits of hygienic living.  The school authorities provide hygienic environment in the form of adequate ventilation, good sanitation and all-round cleanliness. To take precautionary and preventive measures – Its aim is to take adequate precautions against contamination and spread of disease. So, good sanitary arrangements are made.  Urinal and toilets are kept clean.  Sweeping is done daily, and the room and the furniture are kept clean.  Sweeping is done daily and the room and the furniture are kept neat and tidy.   The eatables in the tuck-shop are saved from flies. To take curative measures – Remedial action against diseases is also taken. A physic-medical check-up is made, deformities, disabilities and disease detected, and remedial measures suggested.  A good number of pupils suffer from myopia.  An eye-examination reveals the extent of short-sightedness.  If glasses are not used in time, myopia will increase rapidly.  Some people have bad teeth.  If they suffer from pyorrhoea, immediate medical treatment is needed.  Astigmatism, bronchitis, diphtheria, dyspepsia, epilepsy, hypermetropia, influenza, measles, mumps, stammering, tonsillitis, whooping cough and rickets are some common diseases of young children.  It is the responsibility of the school to detect these and provide adequate medical treatment for their removal. To develop and promote mental and emotional health – Mental and emotional health are also equally important, along with physical health, in the school health programmes, while physical health makes a pupil physically fit, mental and emotional health enables him to maintain an even temper and a happy disposition. To develop a sense of civic responsibility among pupils – There is little sense of civic responsibility in our students. They generally fail in their duty to help their fellow students in particular and other persons in general.  They do not come to the aid of others in time of need and alleviate their sufferings.  So, one of the objectives of health education is to cultivate a sense of civic responsibility.  Through health education pupil are made conscious of social crimes, like spitting anywhere, sneezing and coughing on the faces of others and not isolation themselves when suffering from infectious or contagious diseases.  In short, health education aims at teaching pupils to accept and apply democratic principles, relating to health matters at home, in school and in the community.  In this way, health education will contribute to the life of the community through the development of educated citizens, who know the advantages and necessity of supporting health measures, for the common good.

According to W.H.O Technical Report (1954), the objectives of health education are:

To ensure that health is valued as an asset in the community. To equip the people with the skills, knowledge and attitudes to enable them to solve their health problems by their own actions and efforts, and To promote the development and proper use of health services.

Objectives of Health Education at Different Stages of School Education

Primary Stage To make students realize the value of health and its personal and social importance. To inculcate healthy habits regarding personal hygiene food, clothing and posture Secondary Stage To help students know how they can save themselves from accidents and from the carriers of diseases, like flies, mosquitoes, rats, dirt, discharge as well as polluted air, water and food. To help students understand the relationship between health education and physical education. To make students realize the value of health and its personal and social importance. To inculcate habits of healthy living regarding personal hygiene, food, clothing and posture. Higher Secondary Stage To give students sufficient knowledge and training in First Aid. To emphasise on students the bad effects of smoking and taking alcohol. To make students understand the causes of the pollution of air, water, soil and food as well as the ways and means of their prevention. To help students understand the importance of physical training sports, games, yoga exercises as well as their relationship with health education programme. To give students desirable knowledge about marriage, sex and population explosion.

 

 

Chapter: 22 IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH EDUCATION IN A TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME

IMPORTANCE