What is SHEPS?
The School Health Education Profiles (SHEPS) are
used Tby the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor health
education in U.S. schools. The
Kentucky
Department of Education -Program Resources is the agency
that conducts this study within the Commonwealth of Kentucky
utilizing the skills of the UK Center for Prevention Research. The
CDC annually urges KDE to survey middle and high schools in
Kentucky. The subsequent surveys are returned to the CDC where they
are analyzed by Westat, a
private company contracted with the CDC. The UK Center for
Prevention Research also does secondary analysis with the Kentucky
data.
Introduction
When it comes to effectively safeguarding
the children of Kentucky, knowledge is power. The UK Center for
Prevention Research surveyed 297 Kentucky public middle and high
school principals and 289 public middle and high school health
teachers in 2002 to gather information on curricula and policies
in the areas of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, school safety,
and disease prevention. Principals received one survey dealing
more with policy issues, and health teachers received a separate
survey dealing more with teaching methods and content.
Seventy-one percent of random samples of a) principals and b)
health teachers responded to the surveys. This data is thus
weighted and representative of Kentucky public middle and high
schools as a whole.
Keep in mind that this information reflects
the responses of principals and teachers in typical
Kentucky public middle and high schools and does not necessarily
represent the policies and teaching taking place at private,
elementary, alternative, psychiatric treatment, etc. schools.
This data on schools teaching 6th-12th
graders is summarized as a guide for parents, educators, and
decision makers regarding our Commonwealth's most precious
resource, our children.
Contacts
Phone:
502-564-2706
Fax: 502-564-6771
Email:
Barbara Donica,
Kentucky Department of Education
Data
Survey of Principals
Survey of Health Teachers
Links
