ERIC Number: EJ1022453
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-May
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4391
EISSN: N/A
Impact of Mississippi Healthy Students Act of 2007 on District- and School-Level Health Policies: School Officials' Perspectives
Buffington, Anne; McKee, Colleen; Ragsdale, Kathleen; Blanchard, Troy C.; Baggett, Dorris; Southward, Linda H.
Journal of School Health, v84 n5 p285-293 May 2014
Background: Annual evaluations of the Mississippi Healthy Students Act of 2007 (MHSA) were conducted during 2009-2011 (years 1-3) among 4 stakeholder groups: (1) parents of public school students, (2) adolescents, (3) state-level policymakers (ie, legislators and other state officials), and (4) public school officials (ie, superintendents and school board members). Methods: We examine results from the first state-wide surveys conducted among purposive samples of superintendents (N?=?314) and school board members (N?=?689) on childhood obesity as it related to MHSA. These school officials were surveyed in years 1-3 to determine their knowledge or attitudes toward MHSA and support of potential policies, such as reporting results of student body mass index (BMI) assessments to parents. Results: Through the 3?years of the study, school officials were supportive of MHSA across a number of variables, although superintendents were consistently more supportive of current policies as compared with school board members. Conclusion: Results underscore the current and potential role of school officials relative to the process of fully implementing MHSA within all public school districts in Mississippi. Implications and 3 cases that illustrate diverse ways that school districts have chosen to implement effective school-based health initiatives are discussed.
Descriptors: State Legislation, Obesity, School Policy, Public Schools, Superintendents, Boards of Education, State Surveys, Administrator Attitudes, Comparative Analysis
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Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Mississippi
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A