HIV Prevention Initiative
Focuses on Teacher Training

Many young Americans behave in ways that place them at risk for HIV infection. In 1999, a survey commissioned by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that almost 50 percent of high school students had had sexual intercourse; more than 40 percent of the sexually-active students had not used a condom when they last had sexual intercourse; almost two percent said they had injected illegal drugs.

In an effort to make sure that children learn to protect themselves from the disease before they begin risk-taking activities, AAAS is working with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) to develop a knowledge base about HIV/AIDS and other health problems that can be woven into teacher-training programs.

“We have the ability to convene scientists and other scholars with expertise, who can tell us what teachers should know, and how best to introduce that information into a science and health curriculum for training those teachers,” says Yolanda George, deputy director of AAAS’s education and human resources programs.

AAAS and the AACTE recently convened a panel to develop an agenda and to prepare a report based on a series of papers that were commissioned for the meeting, which was held from 19-20 June. The AACTE has funding from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its “Build a Future without AIDS Initiative.”

“There are many efforts to influence teacher education,” said Mary Dilworth, vice president of research and information services at AACTE. “This one is different because it deals specifically with the subject of AIDS education. We are here to try and establish a knowledge base that teacher candidates will be taught.”

—Monica Amarelo

3 July 2002

For more on the AAAS/AACTE conference, read HIV as a Global Health Problem.