Evaluating Primary School Teachers' Knowledge and Practices of School Health Programme in Delta State: Implications for Healthy Living of Pupils

The study assessed the knowledge and practices of School Health Programmes among teachers in public primary schools in Oshimili North Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria. It adopted descriptive survey. The target population consisted of all 225 teachers in the existing 30 public primary schools. A sample of 144 teachers was selected through simple random sampling, using the raffle draw method to ensure equal opportunity for participation. Stratified random sampling was also employed to select 18 schools from rural and urban areas, with 8 teachers randomly chosen from each selected school. The research instrument was a structured questionnaire divided into two sections: Section A focused on respondents' socio-demographic data, while Section B addressed the research questions with 43 items. The validity of the instrument was ensured by experts in Tests and Measurement and Primary Education, while reliability was confirmed through a test-retest method, yielding a high correlation coefficient. Data collection involved obtaining permissions and distributing the questionnaire, with a high response rate achieved. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, while inferential statistics (chi-square) tested the hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level. The findings provide valuable insights into the teachers' knowledge and practices regarding school health programmes, contributing to improved implementation strategies in the region. Recommendations were made among others which includes Government should organize workshops and seminars to deepen teachers' understanding of health appraisal services and provide regular updates on health policies, guidelines, and tools to keep teachers informed. And Government should also develop and implement training programs focused on school health instruction for teachers and include school health education as a core component in teacher professional development programs.