Health Literacy and Teacher Education

This research aimed at identifying the learning needs of students of Farhangian University to help the policy makers and curriculum developers offer curriculums which are relevant to their needs and can promote their health literacy. A qualitative study focusing on normative inquiry was conducted in a teacher education center. The participants were 228 professional teachers and 25 teacher candidates who were studying in Farhangian University and were chosen using convenience sampling. An interview guide and a questionnaire with two open-ended questions were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. They were coded and categorized in emergent themes. The results depict 6 themes for an effective health literacy curriculum defined by the participants: A necessity for health literacy curriculum, proposed competencies, the role of teacher educator, the content, the method of evaluation as well as hopes and fears. According to the participants, there is an urgent need to offer health literacy curriculum in teacher education since they have not experienced it in primary and secondary schools. They believe that an effective health literacy curriculum makes the learners responsible for the health of their and future students. The participants called for educators who had the same gender and were role model for health behavior. A content which is practical and relevant to the real world was proposed by the majority of participants.