Survey of the Attitudes of Superintendents, School Board Presidents, and Principals Toward Health Education by School District

Abstract

An attitudes toward health education questionnaire was developed to determine and compare the attitudes of superintendents, school board presidents, and principals. The sample population consisted of superintendents, school board presidents, and principals in a stratified random sample of 80 school districts. The school districts were stratified according to enrollment size. A total of 258 subjects were mailed questionnaires and a 77% (199) return of mailed questionnaires was obtained. The data collected from returned questionnaires was analyzed using a two-way ANOVA, unequal cell frequency, and a one-way ANOVA, unequal 1 cell frequency, to determine statistical significance at the p</=.05 level. A Scheffe' post-hoc test was used to locate mean scores where a significant difference was revealed from the one-way ANOVA. This statistical analysis of the data revealed a significant difference between the attitudes of principals and school board presidents toward health education. There was no significant difference between the attitudes of superintendents and principals or superintendents and school board presidents. The attitudes of superintendents, principals, and school board presidents do not vary according to school district size . It was concluded that principals have a significantly more positive attitude toward health education than do school board presidents.