A Study of the Leadership Activities of <i>Yogo</i> Teachers during Collaborations in the School Health Programs

<p>　With the promotion of school health being one of the main aims, the leadership qualities of yogo teachers as professionals are in high demand these days. The main objectives of this study are: (1) to state the leadership activities of yogo teachers who collaborate with the concerned person in school health programs, (2) to clarify whether the leadership activities of yogo teachers have any effect on the situation of the school health at each school, and to clarify whether they have any effect on the healthy support for elementary school children and their teachers. A free-description-style questionnaire was employed for this objective. The subjects were the coordinators of school health programs and class-teachers who are in charge of the corresponding fifth or sixth grade classes. All of the subjects were working at schools where yogo teachers were present. The targets of the research analysis were the yogo teachers at 168 elementary schools. The evaluation scores for the items related to the leadership activities of yogo teachers and the present situation of school health were assessed by averaging the scores given by two teachers arbitrarily chosen at each of the 168 schools. The results were as follows:</p><p>　1) As for the leadership activities of yogo teachers who are collaborating with the other staff members engaging in school health programs, the items that were given high evaluation scores were the next four: (1) "Sharing information about pupils with their class-teachers." (2) "Sharing common knowledge about ways to perform emergency medical procedures with other staff members." (3) "Providing protection against infectious diseases." and (4) "Being polite to other stuff members." The items that were given low evaluation scores were as follows: (1) "Not to hesitate about arguing with other staff members in what the yogo teacher thought to be right." (2) "Going around the school to check on its security and its environment." (3) "Collaborating with guest lecturers to teach health education." and (3) "Organizing support teams for elementary school children who have health problems."</p><p>　2) As for the present situation of school health, the items given high scores were the next two: (1) "Pupils and teachers were free to visit the school health room." and (2) "Health management was conducted appropriately." The items given low scores were these two: (1) "Pupils concerned about the health of their own and the health of their friend." and (2) "Parents concerned about the health of their own and the health of their children." The results of the survey led us to conclude that the leadership of yogo teachers as specialists in school health problems is indispensable.</p><p>View PDF for the rest of the abstract</p>