Modes of Educating Teachers About Vocal Hygiene: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Educating teachers about vocal hygiene can be a means of alleviation or prevention of voice problems in this population. The present study aimed to compare four modes of educating teachers in India (n=80) about vocal hygiene. Four groups of 20 teachers were exposed to educative material on the vocal hygiene program created for the present study. Each group received it either in audio mode delivered by the researcher posing as a voice therapist (VA); in audio mode delivered by a researcher posing as a teacher (TA); in written mode delivered by the researcher posing as a voice therapist (VW); or in written mode delivered by a researcher posing as a teacher (TW). The improvement in the knowledge of teachers before and after vocal hygiene education was gauged by administering a written questionnaire before and after the content that the teachers received. Results revealed that all four modes were effective in vocal hygiene education. However, no significant difference (P>0.05) in the improvement of knowledge in teachers across the four modes was seen although the relative mean difference was observed higher for TW mode than other modes. Individual item analyses revealed that some concepts were conveyed more effectively than others. This gave insights into improving the quality and efficacy of vocal hygiene programs in the future. Findings have implications in reaching out to remote areas and employing peer-to-peer teaching as an effective way of vocal hygiene education among teachers.