Volume : 3, Issue : 4, APR 2017

VIEWS OF CARIBBEAN PARTICIPANT-TEACHERS ON THEIR TRAINING FOR A SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME

Onuoha1, C.A.; Dyer-Regis, B. & Onuoha, P.C.

Abstract

Background: The Caribbean Island nations introduced a school health programme aimed to equipping the youths with life skills to enable them cope better in the society since the 1990s. In Trinidad and Tobago, teachers were trained to deliver this programme to their students in both primary and secondary schools. The implementation of the programme is at best haphazard. This study is an attempt to document the views of the teachers about the training they received pertaining to this programme. Methods: Teachers who have been trained in this programme were purposively selected to document their views through a focus group sessions. Two sets of this group sessions were undertaken with 11 teachers. Their views were reported verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi’s analysis technique. Result: Caribbean Teachers gave their perspectives about their training. Importantly, their views were summarizes in two themes, namely, different training techniques, and concerns. Discussions; Given the mixed result, it is important to ensure that the teachers who are the implementers of the programme receive adequate training so that they will be in a better position to impact on the skills of the youth as envisage by the programme designers. The implications of the findings were discussed vis-à-vis the literature. Conclusion: This study identified some of the good elements of the training the teachers’ were exposed to. It also highlighted some areas that require re-visiting if this laudable programme will yield its maximum fruit.

Keywords

Teachers, school health programme, Caribbean.

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References

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