Analysis of the oral health unit of elementary school health textbooks

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the textbook content, specifically that of the oral health units, of Korean elementary health textbooks in order to discuss oral health education in elementary schools through textbooks. Methods: The study analyzed the "oral health" units of six health textbooks for students in the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school in Korea. It identified the number of pictures, practice contents, and summaries in the textbooks, calculating the proportion of oral health units relative to the total number of pages in the textbook and comparing the learning goals provided by the WHO with the education contents. In addition, the study also analyzed several keywords from the textbooks in terms of whether they relate to oral health. Results: The comprehensive analysis on the oral health units within the three health textbooks analyzed revealed that all three were similar, except that the textbook from publisher A did not include an introduction. The three textbooks also had differences in terms of the organization of the contents. In terms of the learning goals of the oral health units, there were differences between the WHO standards and the learning goals from the textbooks, with the WHO standards only partially reflected. The analysis also showed that there were more keywords on oral diseases than those related to oral health management and prevention. Conclusions: Improvements should be made regarding the learning goals and education topics of health education in order to ensure that children receive a more systematic oral health education in their earlier years, which will help to develop and correct oral health management habits among elementary school students.