title: Exploratory factor analysis: health perceptions of Chinese early childhood educators in Hong Kong.
abstract: The aim of this study was to explore health perceptions of preschool teachers, with a view to inform early childhood practices and teacher education. Pre-service student-teachers and in-service teachers (n = 200) who were voluntarily recruited completed a 24-item health attitude questionnaire. Factor analysis identified four dimensions of health attitudes, reflecting physical, psychosocial, mental and emotional domains. Inter-correlations among the factors suggested that early childhood educators in Hong Kong embrace a holistic view of health, although they consider physical and emotional health as more salient than the psychosocial and mental health dimensions. In comparisons of the perceptions of in-service teachers and student-teachers, students placed less emphasis on psychosocial health, but teachers placed more emphasis on physical health. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for designing health education programmes for preschool teacher education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Early Childhood Education, Hong Kong institute of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road,Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong. cmschan@ied.edu.hk
authors.forename: Christine M S
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kitzmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D012938:Social Perception; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult