Special educators who teach health education: Their role and perceived ability

Current educational practices indicate that an increasing number of students with disabilities may now be receiving health education services through specialist health education teachers instead of special education teachers. In this survey, we explored the extent to which special education teachers in the state of nebraska taught health education to students with disabilities and how prepared they felt they were to teach in this area. Results of the study showed that almost one third of the special education teachers responding to the survey taught health education to students with disabilities but also indicated that many of these teachers did not perceive themselves as being adequately prepared or confident in their ability to address health education issues related to students with disabilities. Further research and curriculum development for teaching health to students with disabilities are recommended.