Some Recent Patterns of Health Education at the Secondary Level

Abstract

52 a lag between a medical innovation and its mass practice, such as abortion, but a further delay exists between societal acceptance and official governmental change. ' The same 'lag' situation applies to health education, and particularly sex education, in America. Contemporary secondary school and college students lack a knowledge of basic general health education. It also appears that such education will not be forthcoming to any large number of students became of opposition to such subjects and an inadequate supply of qualified health education instructors. Even though students lack, and have not internalized, factual health benefits, thcy do have opinions about current social health topics.In general, the group tested at the University of Massachusetts showed a vast tolerance of, and a genuine liberal attitude toward, topics which at times infuriated the older citizeny.However, it additionally appears that while more personal freedoms are acceptable to the college student-for example, legalizing pornography or homosexuality-they show a firm belief in limiting such freedom when the freewill of each person involved is not measuredfor example, keeping incest illegal. This level of educational sophistication shown by these college students offers support to a belief of academic health educators that maturing students do have an important part in forming decisions relative to current social health issues--decisions based upon maturity and education, not based upon emotion and traditional normative beliefs.The students expressed a strong desire to separate in their mind an act from the reasons for the act-for example, abortion is proper to save a life or if the foetus was caused by rape, but abortion is wrong if forced upon a person by state order due to marital status or illegitimacy. This ability to separate into component parts social problems that confront society, by accepting an action when needed, demonstrates a marked maturity. Such development has not been shown by the general population. The college student has obtained his reasoning ability with respect to social health issues without the availability of mass-accepted formal training. American health educators can only imagine what results might occur if formal training were to be promoted in college and required in a secondary level of education. References Ahmann, J. Stanley (1962). Testing Student Achievements andAptitudes. Applied

Morality and the medical department: 1907–19741

“…the anatomical content of health education was shown to be considerable, whereas the social/moral side failed to command an equivalent emphasis'. 48 At the school level the main focus in what was taught seems to have been on drugs, smoking and sex (CMO, 1966-8: 3 and CMO, 1971-2: 48).…”