Enabling Primary School Teachers for Health Contemplated Classroom Management: Understanding the Effectivity of In-service Training Programs

Abstract

In the contemporary primary education system, teachers are expected to improve their health knowledge to ensure the healthy development of the children. For teachers, in-service training programs act as a key source of information to improve their conceptions of student health. Based on this context, the aim of the study was to explore the effectiveness of in-service training programs in elevating the health conceptualization of primary school teachers for classroom management. The study utilized an exploratory qualitative design, guided by a social constructionist approach. 20 primary school teachers were selected through purposive sampling, and the required data were collected through in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted on the collected data to generate the themes. The themes generated from the analysis are: loose coupling of training programs, deskilling of the teachers, and de-medicalization of students’ health. These themes highlight the limitations of the in-service training programs in orienting teachers to be involved in the holistic development of children. In addition to this, the findings of the study point out that teachers are not receiving relevant health information for promoting the healthy development of children, as outdated content is provided in the in-service training programs. The study stresses that there is an essentiality of revitalizing the programs to bridge the gap between the health conceptualization of teachers and the health needs of children in the classrooms.