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Diffusion of Cancer Education into Schools
Author(s) -
Anderson D. Michael,
Portnoy Barry
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1989.tb04707.x
Subject(s) - curriculum , health educators , psychological intervention , health education , competition (biology) , diffusion theory , politics , school health education , variety (cybernetics) , medical education , public relations , political science , psychology , pedagogy , medicine , business , nursing , public health , computer science , innovation diffusion , marketing , ecology , artificial intelligence , law , biology
ABSTRACT: Though implementing health education in schools has numerous advantages, many barriers impede adoption of effective curricula. Diffusion theory provides a framework for understanding why some school systems do not implement comprehensive, sequential, and behaviorally oriented curricula. Reasons for failure to provide optimal health education include competition for time, unawareness of resources and research results, political considerations, long‐range planning difficulties, lack of teacher training, lack of testing, other academic priorities, uncertainty about responsibility for health education, and costs. Health educators can overcome such difficulties by working within existing curricular agendas, political interests, and budgets, and by organizing interventions through school health councils, while recognizing local programs, conditions, and resources.