Teacher Reports of Student Health and Its Influence on Students' School Performance
Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions
Published online on April 01, 2013
Abstract
Physical health may be an important variable that influences students’ behavioral and academic performance in school settings. Poor health status is hypothesized to negatively influence student performance even in the presence of evidence-based practices. In this study, teachers reported their perceptions of students’ health status as well as their perceptions of the relation of health status to classroom performance and programming considerations for a sample (N = 217) of elementary and middle school students identified as exhibiting problem behaviors. Results indicated inconsistencies between teachers’ perceptions of student health and school programming considerations. Limitations are presented along with implications for future research and practice.