Kelly Ingerly

NSF International

734.827.6850

Rebecca Herbst

OLSON for NSF International

612.215.9828

Fact Sheet

NSF International “Teacher Tell-All” Kids’ Handwashing Survey Key Findings

Teachers are doing their part to keep their classrooms clean and educate kids about handwashing, but some kids might not be getting the message.

-Eighty-six percent of teachers clean their classrooms themselves to supplement janitorial services in schools.

-Nearly all teachers surveyed (98 percent) reported talking to their students about washing their hands.

But…

-Nearly half of those teachers (42 percent) surveyed say it’s more difficult to get their students to use soap when they wash their hands than it is to get them to do their homework.

Handwashing habits are getting worse as students get older.

-A concerning 39 percent of 4th-5th grade teachers and 34 percent of 2nd-3rd grade teachers report that their students are guilty of “all of the above” bad handwashing habits compared to 29 percent of K-1st grade teachers.

-The following bad handwashing habits of students were reported by the teachers surveyed:

  • Not washing their hands after gym class (27 percent).
  • Not washing their hands after touching of playing with something dirty (24 percent).
  • Not washing their hands properly (20 percent).
  • Not washing their hands after using the bathroom (13 percent).
  • Not washing their hands before eating (12 percent).
  • All of the above (33 percent).

American parents often send their sick kids to school. .

-When asked how common it is for a parent to send their sick child to school, a huge majority (84 percent) say that it either happens all or some of the time.

-Fifteen percent say it doesn’t happen often.

-Only 1 percent of teachers say that it never happens.

Teachers are resorting to other methods to keep kids clean.

-Because kids aren’t washing with soap, the majority of teachers (80 percent) are turning to sanitizing hand gel to help kids clean their hands.

Teachers know where the germs are hiding.

-A previous germ study by NSF International found that the drinking fountain has the most germs of any surface in the school. In this survey, 14 percent of teachers correctly identified the drinking fountain as one of the germiest surfaces in the school.

-Thirty-nine percent of teachers identified students’ desks and chairs – the place where they spend the majority of their day – as the germiest surfaces in the school.

Additional Resources

About the Survey

The Scrub Club Teacher Tell-All Kids Handwashing Survey of 500 teachers was conducted by Kelton Research between October 19th and November 1st, 2006 using Random Digital Dialing of both listed and unlisted numbers. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population of teachers of grades K-5. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

About NSF International:

NSF International, an independent, not-for-profit organization, helps protect you by certifying products and writing standards for food, water, air and consumer goods ( Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting public health and safety worldwide. NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment. Additional services include safety audits for the food and water industries, management systems registrations delivered through NSF International Strategic Registrations, Ltd., organic certification provided by Quality Assurance International and education through the NSFCenter for Public Health Education.

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