Abstract:

The presented comparative study is focused on the health issue of the future teachers. Health belongs to the basic human needs that influence everybody’s quality of life. Life satisfaction and its components represent important determinants of health and healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this pilot study is to analyze and compare the level of life satisfaction and its components among Czech and American prospective teachers. Furthermore, to analyze the level of self-rated health in relation to the self-reported body mass index in monitored samples. The sample of this study consisted of 193 students of teaching majors from Faculty of Education, 103 Czech, and 90 American students. Life satisfaction was measured using the Life satisfaction questionnaire, subsequently, self-reported body mass index and self-rated assessment of health were obtained. Statistical result processing was conducted using the Statgraphics program v. 12.0. The level of statistical significance was tested at p ≤ 0.05; p ≤ 0.01; p ≤ 0.001. According to the statistical analysis, we found out significant differences in 5 out of 9 areas of life satisfaction between Czech and American prospective teachers, specifically health, finance, own person, living conditions, and partnership. Gender differences and self-reported BMI in relation to the subjective assessment of health were also analyzed. Implications of the findings can contribute to the prevention programs against teacher burnout and can help to understand the role of the cultural factors influencing different areas of life satisfaction.

Keywords:

Quality of life, assessment of health, self-reported BMI.