B.S. IN SECONDARY HEALTH EDUCATION

TEACHING HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?
You want to educate teens about enhancing their health through exercise, nutrition, and personal growth and safety.
You want to make a real difference in young people’s lives.

Health education promotes the health and wellness of secondary school students through a curriculum that includes topics such as substance abuse, injury prevention, human sexuality, consumer health, disease prevention, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, and personal growth. Health teachers have a rich understanding of the health and lifestyle concerns of their students. They help students develop skills and make decisions that will improve their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being.

“Our faculty members don’t just keep up with the latest developments in school health. Through their participation in leading national and state agencies and organizations, they are closely involved in developing many of the best practices found in school health today.”
—David Lohrmann, Professor of Applied Health Science

About the Program

The Health Education—Secondary Teacher Preparation Program in Indiana University’s Department of Applied Health Science prepares its students to be effective teachers and public health advocates in middle and high schools. This program provides a strong grounding in teaching methodology, curriculum development, and classroom management as well as extensive knowledge of current health issues such as drug education, violence prevention, consumer health, family life, human sexuality, fi tness, injury and disease prevention, and nutrition. Students also take courses such as adolescent development through the School of Education.

Gaining Knowledge and Getting Experience

Being an effective teacher requires expert knowledge in your content area and practical experience:

Build a professional network with IU faculty, who have a strong national presence in the field of school health.
Choose health electives to complete a minor in public health.

Secondary Health Education student surrounded by children at a table

“In this program, I learned how to equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need to be healthy and productive. I gained skills in interpersonal communication, health advocacy, the functioning of the human body, and a number of other areas that will help me be an effective health educator.”
—Michael Thompson, B.S. health education, ’06

Educational and Professional Requirements

Students must complete 26 credit hours with a cumulative minimum GPA of 2.5 to be admitted to the Secondary Health Education Teacher Program. To enter the Teacher Education Program, which is required for this major, students also need an overall GPA of 2.5. A minimum of 124 credit hours is required to complete this program.

To be competitive in the teaching market, students may supplement their degree with physical education as their cognate fi eld. Preparation for this second teaching field—combined with the semester-long student teaching—usually makes this a five-year degree program.

Tab sheet for major and tab sheet for cognate (PDF)

Sample of Early Critical Courses

HPER-H	263	Personal Health
HPER-F	255	Human Sexuality
HPER-N	220	Nutrition for Health
EDUC-P	313	Perspectives on Adolescents in Learning Communities
HPER-H	205	Introduction to Health Education

Sample of Upper-Division Core Courses

HPER-H	352	Secondary School Health Curriculum and Strategies
HPER-H	353	Field Observation
HPER-H	452	Secondary School Health Instruction and Assessment
HPER-H	453	Microteaching Lab for Health Education

Job Outlook and Salaries

This major will certify you to teach health in public or private secondary schools. Teachers usually teach five to six classes each day, following the schedule and guidelines of the school district. You’ll help develop the health curriculum and give advice on healthrelated concerns of your school. The job outlook for teachers is excellent due to expected increases in teacher retirements.

As with any profession, salaries vary by geographic region and job responsibilities. Teachers who sponsor a club or coach typically earn a stipend in addition to their annual salary. The average starting salary is $36,000, according to a 2007 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. The average salary for public school teachers in Indiana in 2006 was $47,832.

For More Information

For more information about this program or the Department of Applied Health Science, please contact:

Department of Applied Health Science
Indiana University
HPER Building 116
1025 E. Seventh Street
Bloomington, IN 47405-7109
Telephone: (812) 855-3627
E-mail: ahsinfo@indiana.edu

If you want to know more about becoming a secondary health education teacher,
check out:

American School Health Association, www.ashaweb.org
American Association for Health Education, www.aahperd.org/aahe

Program Brochure (PDF)

Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG) is a national professional health science honorary organization. We have Nu Chapter here at Indiana University.