A comparison of self-reported health education competencies among selected school health educators in the United States and Taiwan, R.O.C.
Results from a preliminary, cross-national study examining perceived competence of school health educators in Taiwan, R.O.C., and in Florida are reported. The study used the Self-Assessment for the Health Educator instrument, developed by the National Task Force on the Preparation and Practice of Health Educators, Inc., which specifies 79 skills in seven competency areas. School health educators from Taiwan and Florida rated their own perceived competence regarding each skill, and assessed the perceived usefulness of each skill in health education practice. Responses from the two groups were similar on six of seven competency areas regarding usefulness of the items. Yet, teachers from Taiwan expressed greater perceived competence than the Florida teachers in five of seven areas. However, within both groups, teachers rated perceived usefulness higher than their own perceived level of competence. Inservice training, amount of formal training, and years of professional experience affected levels of perceived confidence in both groups. Initial results suggest the self-assessment instrument may prove useful as a tool for examining professional competence in other countries, but more extensive research is needed to determine the instrument's applicability in cross-national comparisons.
Chen
W W
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Dept. of Health Science Education, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-2034.
D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006266:Health Education / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D012655:Self-Evaluation Programs; D013624:Taiwan; D013663:Teaching / Q000592:standards*; D000078329:Workforce