Preparation of Teachers and of Teaching Specialisation Students for the Implementation of School Health Education – a Review of Research

Shaping health awareness is one of the basic tasks of education, hence, creating healthy attitudes of children and young people should occupy an important place among the goals of education. In Poland, the role of a teacher as a health educator has been validated in key documents related to education and upbringing: general educational curriculum and education standards preparing for the teaching profession. The implementation of health education requires extensive subject-related and pedagogical competences from teachers. The aim of this work was to review a research in the field of preparing teachers and students of teaching specialisations for the implementation of school health education, particularly concerning: knowledge about health determinants, the position of vital values (health, physical condition and well-being) in the hierarchy of values, the scale of healthy behaviours in lifestyle and readiness to change as an important element of behaviour modification (also in the dimension of health culture). A review of the analysed studies showed a limited amount of knowledge in the field of health determinants and threats, low position of vital values in the hierarchy of values, prevalence of anti-health behaviours in lifestyle, and limited readiness of teachers and students of teaching faculties for a change regarding health-promoting behaviours.