Developing a health literacy curriculum for pre-service teachers using a Dialogue Education Approach: A normative inquiry

Health literacy is an important competency to maintain health. Schools are a key setting in which health literacy can be promoted. However this depends on the teacher's health literacy that is not always adequate. The present study describes the development of a health literacy curriculum for pre-service teachers using dialogue education approach.
A normative inquiry was applied to develop the components of a dialogic health literacy curriculum. The method included two focus groups with teacher candidates, 13 face-to-face interviews with an expert panel and a survey with 228 professional teachers in 2015. In addition we examined the content of “Theoretical Premises of the Fundamental Reform of the Formal General Education System of the Islamic Republic of Iran” in relation to health education. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. They were coded and categorized in predetermined themes.
Eight themes emerged as components of a dialogic health literacy curriculum: 1. Characteristics of the learners and educator; 2. Situation that calls for the learning; 3. Ultimate changes; 4. Time frame; 5. Site for the learning events; 6. Content; 7. Learning objectives and 8. Learning tasks. These will be explained in details.
We have developed a dialogic health literacy curriculum to improve health literacy among future teachers to help them to play their critical role in improving health literacy of their future students. An evaluation of the impact of the curriculum is needed.