(1) The program requires that successful candidates:

(a) utilize health-related data about the social and cultural environments impacting growth and development, needs and interests of students to promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors inclusive of American Indians and tribes in Montana;

(b) distinguish between behaviors and external factors (family, peers, culture, media, technology) that promote health enhancement and those that hinder well-being;

(c) conduct needs assessments that provide appropriate data to determine health education needs of the learners and diverse populations;

(d) use advocacy and communication skills to recruit school and community representatives to support and assist in health education program planning;

(e) develop a logical scope and sequence plan for a health education program that includes a display of functional knowledge of health promotion and disease prevention concepts related to alcohol and other drugs, injury prevention, nutrition, physical activity, sexual health, tobacco, mental health, suicide prevention, personal and consumer health, including goal settings, interpersonal communication, and decision skills to enhance health and community and environmental health;

(f) formulate appropriate and measurable learner goals and objectives that promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors;

(g) design health education strategies consistent with specified learner goals and objectives to encourage the practice of healthy behaviors to promote physical and cognitive health;

(h) analyze factors affecting the successful implementation of health education and coordinated school health programs;

(i) select resources and media best suited to implement program plans for diverse learners, including relevant resources for American Indians and tribes in Montana;

(j) demonstrate competence in delivering planned health education programs;

(k) evaluate health education programs, adjusting objectives and instructional strategies as necessary;

(l) assess student achievement based on health education program objectives, interpret results, and determine future program needs;

(m) design and develop a plan for coordinating health education with other components of a school health program;

(n) demonstrate the dispositions and communication skills to facilitate cooperation among health educators, other teachers, and appropriate school staff;

(o) formulate strategies of collaboration among health educators in all settings;

(p) utilize health information retrieval systems effectively, i.e., current and emerging technologies;

(q) establish effective and appropriate consultative relationships with those requesting assistance in solving health-related problems;

(r) synthesize valid and reliable health data and respond to requests for health information;

(s) select effective, valid, and reliable health resource materials for dissemination;

(t) interpret concepts, purposes, models, and theories of health promotion and health education;

(u) predict the impact of societal value systems on health education programs;

(v) select a variety of communication techniques and adapt health information to a specific target audience; and

(w) develop effective communication between health care providers and consumers working cooperatively as an advocate for improving personal, family, and community health.