Content Analysis of First Elementary School Grades’ Textbooks Based on Assumptions of Health Education System: Shannon Entropy Model

The curriculum of education and promotion of health in raising the awareness and development of the health culture of students is important. In order to pay attention to the importance of health issues in the student’s health process, it is necessary to develop the content of textbooks and an educational program that can accommodate all the essential health education needs. This study is of content analysis type using “Shannon Entropy Method”, which specifies qualitative and quantitative data processing in content analysis. From the viewpoint of respondents, the content (the content of all the textbooks of first three years of elementary schools) was reviewed using 12 main components and 58 sub-components of health and health promotion; its validity was confirmed by curriculum planning and health education experts and its reliability (0/72) was obtained through Scott’s method. Results of content analysis of Shannon Entropy of reviewing the textbooks of first elementary school grades, indicated components of mental health with 284 items (WJ=0/1832), and familiarity with foodstuffs with 271 items (WJ=0/1981) assigned the most frequency and importance, and the disability indicator components (the importance of disability, helping disabled people, different types of disability, etc.) with 0 items (WJ=0) were the least important indicators and components. Findings of component frequency indicated the health system components do not have normal distribution, in other words health education and health promotion have been addressed in very low level in curriculum, while health is the most important factor in development and guarantees the survival of community.