The National Consensus for School Health Education Standards

This episode is a discussion of the National Health Education Standards: Model Guidance for Curriculum and Instruction, 3rd Edition (NHES-3) from the National Consensus for School Health Education (NCSHE) (2022). Key points addressed in this podcast include:

-The NHES-3 are the third edition of health education standards from the ongoing collaborative work of health educators representing the American School Health Association, Eta Sigma Gamma, Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education, National Commission for Health Education Credentialing Inc., Society for Public Health Education, Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education, and American Public Health Association (Joint Committee on National Health Education Standards [JCNHES], 1995, 2007; NCSHE, 2022).

-The NHES-3 emphasize the functional knowledge (Standard 1) and health-related skills (Standards 2-8) that students need to engage in healthy behavior.

-Teachers are encouraged to use the NHES-3 (NCSHE, 2022) and other free materials aligned with these standards from the NCSHE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to design, implement, and assess health education curriculum and instruction. These materials include:
o National Health Education Standards: Model Guidance for Curriculum and Instruction (3rd Edition) (NCSHE, 2022) (NHES-3) https://www.schoolhealtheducation.org/wp-c...
o Teaching Standards-Based Health Education (NCSHE, 2024) https://www.schoolhealtheducation.org/wp-c...
o Teaching Health Skills (presentations) and Additional Resources from the NCSHE (n.d.) https://www.schoolhealtheducation.org/reso...
o Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum (CDC, 2024) https://www.cdc.gov/assessing-improving-sc...
o Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) 2021 (CDC, 2021) https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-youth/hecat/pd...

The NHES-3 (NCSHE, 2022) and Teaching Standards-Based Health Education (NCSHE, 2024) provide specific guidance for teaching standards-based health education.
The NHES-3 (NCSHE, 2022) and Teaching Standards-Based Health Education (NCSHE, 2024) provide specific guidance for teaching standards-based health education.
Most schools allocate a precious, limited amount of time for health education. Therefore, it is not possible to cover every skill standard (Standards 2-8) in every content area. Therefore, we must carefully:
o determine the specific Healthy Behavior Outcomes (see CDC’s 2021 HECAT) that can be met through the scope and sequence of the curriculum and each specific lesson (one sometimes more),
o align a limited number of skill standards (two, sometimes three) with the Healthy Behavior Outcomes for each content area in a unit plan and one (sometimes two) skill standard in a lesson plan.

Elisa “Beth” McNeill, Ph.D. and Marlene Tappe, Ph.D. are the current co-chairs of the Development Group of the NCSHE. Together they are engaged in activities related to the dissemination of the National Health Education Standards: Model Guidance for Curriculum Instruction (3rd Edition) (NCSHE, 2022) and Teaching Standards-Based Health Education (NCSHE, 2024).
Dr. McNeill is an Instructional Professor in the College of Public Health at Texas A& M University. Beth started her career as a teacher of Health and Science and then became a professor with a focus on curriculum and instruction in health education. She is an original co-chair of the Development Group and coordinated the activities of its four subgroups.

Dr. Tappe is a Professor Emerita of Health Science at the Minnesota State University, Mankato. Marlene started her career as a Health and Physical Education teacher and then became a professor with a focus on health education teacher education. Marlene was member of both Joint Committees on National Health Education Standards (1995, 2007) and was a co-chair of the Standards Writing Group for National Health Education Standards: Model Guidance for Curriculum Instruction (3rd Edition).

To contact Lori, email her at [email protected] or check out her websites at: www.schoolhealtheducators.org and www.lorireichel.com.