Simon Uwe K, Gesslbauer Lisa, Fink Andreas
Center for Didactics of Biology, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Schubertstraße 51, 8010, Graz, Austria.
Institute of Psychology, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Universitätsplatz 2/DG, 8010, Graz, Austria.
PLoS One. 2016 Feb 26;11(2):e0150014. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150014. eCollection 2016.
Epilepsy is not a regular topic in many countries' schools. Thus many people harbor misconceptions about people suffering from this disease. It was our aim to a) examine what grade ten students know and believe about epilepsy, and b) to develop and test a teaching unit to improve their knowledge and attitude. The test group comprised eight grade ten classes from six different Austrian high schools (54 girls and 51 boys aged 14-17), the control group (no intervention) five grade ten classes from the same schools (26 girls and 37 boys aged 14-17). The teaching unit consisted of three 45-min lessons using different methods and material. Changes in knowledge about and attitude towards epilepsy as a result of the intervention were psychometrically assessed in a pre-test intervention post-test design (along with a follow-up assessment two months after the intervention) by means of a questionnaire capturing different facets of epilepsy-related knowledge and attitude. Across all knowledge/attitude domains, students of the test group had a significantly improved knowledge about and a more positive attitude towards epilepsy and people suffering from it after the teaching unit. However, starting levels were different between the five knowledge/attitude domains tested. Medical background knowledge was lowest and consequently associated with the highest increase after the intervention. This study shows that epilepsy-related knowledge of many grade ten high school students is fragmentary and that some harbor beliefs and attitudes which require improvement. Our comprehensive but concise teaching unit significantly increased knowledge about epilepsy and positively influenced attitude towards individuals with epilepsy. Thus we recommend implementing this unit into regular school curricula.
在许多国家的学校里，癫痫并非一个常规话题。因此，许多人对癫痫患者存在误解。我们的目标是：a）研究十年级学生对癫痫的了解和看法；b）开发并测试一个教学单元，以提高他们的知识水平和态度。测试组由来自奥地利六所不同高中的八个十年级班级组成（54名女生和51名男生，年龄在14 - 17岁之间），对照组（无干预）由同一学校的五个十年级班级组成（26名女生和37名男生，年龄在14 - 17岁之间）。该教学单元由三堂45分钟的课程组成，采用了不同的方法和材料。通过一份涵盖癫痫相关知识和态度不同方面的问卷，在预测试 - 干预 - 后测试设计中（以及干预后两个月的随访评估），从心理测量学角度评估了干预后学生对癫痫的知识和态度的变化。在所有知识/态度领域，测试组的学生在教学单元结束后，对癫痫及癫痫患者的知识有了显著提高，态度也更加积极。然而，所测试的五个知识/态度领域的起始水平有所不同。医学背景知识水平最低，因此在干预后增长幅度最大。这项研究表明，许多十年级高中生对癫痫的相关知识支离破碎，一些人持有需要改进的观念和态度。我们全面而简洁的教学单元显著增加了对癫痫的知识，并对对待癫痫患者的态度产生了积极影响。因此，我们建议将这个单元纳入常规学校课程。
