Making Health Education Meaningful: CATCH’s Skills-Based Approach

September 2, 2025  | By Hannah Gilbert

Key Highlights

• Skills-based health education is a critical component of student success, with strong evidence supporting its impact on long-term health behaviors and academic outcomes.
• CATCH’s Health Ed Journeys Curriculum is built on Social Cognitive Theory and a skills-based approach to support the development of health literacy in a way that empowers students to make informed, lasting decisions about their well-being.
• Health Ed Journeys curriculum is aligned with national and state education standards, including requirements of various state laws and mandates.
• Tools within the curriculum ensure inclusivity and accessibility for learners with diverse needs.

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A skills-based approach to health education is essential for promoting both academic achievement and lifelong well-being. Unlike content-heavy models that focus primarily on information delivery, skills-based education equips students to take meaningful action – bridging the gap between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it.

At CATCH Global Foundation, we recognize that every state and school district has its own approach to health education, shaped by unique priorities, policies, and challenges. Despite these differences, one truth remains constant: high-quality, skills-based health education is a critical component of student success, and evidence continues to support its effectiveness.

Skills-based health education is grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, the same evidence-based framework on which CATCH was founded. This theory emphasizes that most behaviors are learned in social contexts and seeks to influence children’s behaviors by addressing the personal, behavioral, and environmental factors that shape them.

In alignment with Social Cognitive Theory, CATCH’s Health Ed Journeys curriculum builds students’ foundational health knowledge and attitudes, while developing self-efficacy through consistent skill practice and real-world application. This skills-based approach supports the development of health literacy in a way that empowers students to make informed, lasting decisions about their well-being.

Providing students with valid, reliable health content is also crucial for meeting educational mandates and local requirements. CATCH’s Health Ed Journeys curriculum includes documentation showing alignment to national and state education standards, as well as requirements of recently passed legislation. To support meaningful learning outcomes, health education should be delivered in a way that is useful, relevant, and developmentally appropriate for all students. Health Ed Journeys is designed with this in mind, offering a structured, skills-based curriculum that empowers both educators and students.

What’s Inside CATCH Health Ed Journeys?

The curriculum is structured around six core instructional units, each focused on a key health topic: Foundational Health & Wellness, Nutrition & Physical Activity, Physical Health & Hygiene, Mental Health & Wellness, Substance Misuse Prevention, and Injury Prevention & Safety. To promote skill acquisition, support diverse learners, and enable effective teaching, each unit includes:

• “Know Before You Go” Educator Guidance: Everything an educator needs to feel confident and prepared to teach a unit, including a unit overview table and key vocabulary, suggestions for preparing for instruction, strategies to support all learners, and recommendations for extending the learning and engaging families.
• Flexible Assessments Options: A variety of assessment tools to support summative assessment, self-reflection, and goal setting to encourage self-efficacy in applying health knowledge and skills.
• Student Engagement Projects: Hands-on activities that promote skill practice, support meaningful learning, and can be used as summative assessments when paired with the provided assessment criteria and evaluation rubric.

Learn More and Advocate for Skills-Based Health Education

CATCH is committed to making skills-based health education more accessible, approachable – and yes, even fun! We find it invaluable to bring together educators, administrators, public health professionals, and community leaders to share insights and learn from one another.

In October 2024, CATCH Curriculum and Content Manager Michelle Rawcliffe joined four national experts from California to Connecticut for an engaging and informative webinar on best practices in skills-based health education. Together, they explored practical strategies and advocacy tools to help bring this approach to life in various settings.