Addresses Individual and Group Norms That Support Health-Enhancing Behaviors

Description:

An effective curriculum (a) provides instructional strategies and learning experiences to help students accurately assess the level of risk-taking behavior among their peers (for example, how many of their peers use illegal drugs) and to correct misperceptions of peer and social norms, (b) emphasizes the value of good health, and (c) reinforces health-enhancing attitudes and beliefs.¹

This characteristic focuses on reinforcing and promoting healthy social norms and getting students to believe that practicing healthy behaviors is the “cool” thing to do. This can be accomplished in several different ways.

First, it is important to provide information that helps students accurately assess levels of risk and protective behaviors by their peers or youth who share similar characteristics and experiences (e.g., age, sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity, or geographic region). When presenting health-behavior data to students, it is important to report local data when possible. Many local health departments, and even school districts, may have available data on student health risk and protective behaviors. Data should be presented in a positive way, meaning it describes the protective or beneficial behavior or outcome you want students to engage in. For example, if 25% of students in grade 10 in their school district are current alcohol users, it should be reported to students that 75% of their peers are not current alcohol users. Presenting data in this way can help promote and reinforce health-enhancing norms around a certain behavior.

Second, it is important to correct misperceptions of peer and social norms, sometimes called “perceived norms.” Perceived norms are what people think others are doing or believe. Perceived norms can be based on what people see and hear around them (e.g., from family members, peers, school staff, people in the community, or media outlets), and they are reinforced when people receive information from various sources. It is common for preadolescents and adolescents to believe that most or all of their peers are participating in risky behavior, like drinking alcohol, because of what they see, hear, or have been told by someone. Using accurate and reliable health data about adolescent behavior is critical to correct misperceptions about peer and social norms. 

Third, it is important to emphasize the value of good health and to reinforce health- enhancing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. The teacher can help accomplish this by modeling health-enhancing behaviors, such as drinking water (instead of soft drinks) during class, and by encouraging students to adopt or maintain healthy behaviors. Teachers can also allow for opportunities for students to share their health-enhancing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors throughout lessons. For example, the curriculum may include advocacy- related projects for students to develop persuasive messages to encourage their peers to adopt or maintain healthy behaviors.

Example 1

For this example, the unit that is being taught is Alcohol- and Other Drug-Use Prevention, and the HBOs for the lesson are AOD-5: Avoid driving while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs and AOD-6: Avoid riding in a motor vehicle with a driver who is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. Promoting healthy norms in a lesson will typically take place after students have learned the functional information and skills related to the HBO of the lesson. In this example, students have already learned about the dangers and consequences of driving while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. In addition, students have practiced refusal skills on how to get out of a peer pressure situation to ride in a car with someone who is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
2. To help promote healthy norms related to the HBO of the lesson, students are taught about the skill of advocacy. Advocacy skills empower students with confidence to apply functional health knowledge to persuade others to adopt healthy behaviors. The teacher first explains what “advocacy” means and then shows examples of advocacy activities (e.g., public service announcements, posters, videos).
3. Students are then placed in small groups and are directed to create a short video encouraging their peers to avoid either driving while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs or riding in a motor vehicle with a driver under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
4. Students then share their videos with the rest of the class. Students vote on the most-effective videos, and the winning videos are shared on the morning announcements for the entire student body.

Example 2

For this example, the unit that is being taught is Sexual Health and the HBOs for the lesson are SH-5: Be sexually abstinent and SH-7: Engage in behaviors that prevent or reduce unintended pregnancy  (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. Promoting healthy norms in a lesson will typically take place after students have learned the functional information and skills related to the HBO of the lesson. In this example, students have already brainstormed the financial, educational, social, and physical consequences and challenges of becoming a teen parent.
2. Students then create a poster of their top five reasons they do not want to become a teen parent. They verbally share their list with the class, and then the teacher posts the lists throughout the classroom.

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