Teach IT Project: HIV Prevention Intervention for Schools (1996-1998)
Investigators
- Dr Donna Cross
- Dr Ken Resnicow
- Dr Peter Howat
- Dr Margaret Hall
Project Coordinator
- Michael Rosenberg
Outline and Rationale
The Teacher Education and Classroom Intervention Trial (TEACH IT), was a three year Healthway funded project, involving 142 teachers and 2541 students from 36 metropolitan senior high schools. Using a randomised control design, this project developed and implemented an innovative HIV teacher training program and achieved significant increases in the implementation of the HIV Supplement to the Western Australian K-10 Health Education Syllabus amongst intervention, compared with comparison teachers at one year post-test. This 18-month intervention trial involved 142 health education teachers and 2541 students from 36 metropolitan government senior high schools in Western Australia.
Key Outcomes
The formative evaluation conducted as part of this project, provided crucial information to aid in the development of appropriate intervention materials and strategies to address the barriers and enabling factors relating to the implementation of the HIV supplement.
The TEACH IT project found that multiple measures of teacher implementation can increase the validity of single measures of implementation. Further, providing teachers with a personal copy of the HIV Supplement, conducting an in-service training, with well specified implementation tasks, along with teacher intent to teach HIV education to their students, is likely to result in greater teacher implementation of HIV education.
Uniqueness of Research and Overall Significance in Australia / Internationally
The Health Department of Western Australia utilised the TEACH IT project data and training models developed as part of this project, to train teachers and disseminate HIV resources to schools throughout Western Australia – particularly in rural and remote areas. Hence teachers throughout WA have been able to access the training and resources, and implement more effectively HIV education using evidence-based teaching methods.
Funding
- Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway)
Publications and Presentations
Rosenberg M, Cross D, Favas K., and Hamilton G. Encouraging the implementation of HIV education in Western Australian high Schools: A formative approach. AAHPP conference, Darwin 1997.
Rosenberg M, Cross D. Developing Strategies to Increase HIV/AIDS Education in Western Australian High Schools: A Model Using Formative Evaluation. PHA conference, Perth 1996.