Aims and Goals of K-12 Health Education
The K-12 aim of the Saskatchewan health education curricula is to develop confident and competent students who understand, appreciate, and apply health knowledge, skills, and strategies throughout life.
The K-12 goals are broad statements identifying what students are expected to know and be able to do upon completion of study in a particular subject, at the end of Grade 12. The three K-12 goals of health education are:
- Develop the understanding, skills, and confidences necessary to take action to improve health (USC).
- Make informed decisions based on health-related knowledge (DM).
- Apply decisions that will improve personal health and/or the health of others (AP).
Pillars of Comprehensive School Health
Healthy Physical Environment
- appropriate visuals and audio illustrations
- proper waste disposal
- effective anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies
- access to extra-curricular activities
Supportive Social Environment
- appropriate school discipline policies
- effective school management practices
- active student participation
High-quality Teaching and Learning
- holistic development of the body, mind, and spirit
- goal setting
- powerful instructional strategies
- culturally appropriate resources
Community Engagement and Partnerships
- child protection services
- referrals
- guidance services
- counselling
Comprehensive School Health
Educators are asked to think about health education in relation to the needs and interests of their children. How can learning about health education be more purposeful, engaging, and authentic? How can it help children become more competent and confident in making healthy choices, more knowledgeable about a healthy self, family, community, and environment, and more engaged in identifying and addressing health opportunities and challenges?
Schools can make a substantial contribution to a child's health and well-being. This has been increasingly recognized by many international agencies including World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), and other international and national organizations who recognize that all aspects of the life of the school community are potentially important in the promotion of health. A comprehensive school health approach includes a wide range of school personnel and community members collaborating to enhance the well-being of all children.
The purposes of a comprehensive school health approach are to collaboratively:
- promote health and wellness
- prevent specific diseases, disorders, and injury
- intervene to assist children and youth who are in need or at risk
- support children and youth who are already experiencing poor health
- provide an equitable playing field that addresses disparities and contributes to academic success.
Comprehensive School Health is an integrated approach to health education and promotion that aims to consistently reinforce health on many levels and in many ways.
Inquiry for Healthy Decision Making
- The red light indicates that children and teachers should STOP to wonder and question about knowledge within and beyond the classroom. This involves asking compelling questions, reflecting on what is known, and imagining how things might be different.
- The yellow light suggests that children and teachers THINK deeply about what they are seeing, hearing, and feeling. This involves gathering knowledge from a wide range of sources for the purpose of comparing ideas, making connections, and shaping new thoughts.
- The green light represents the `doing' part of learning. Children DO by making choices that enhance personal health and safety with what they know and understand.
Kindergarten Health Education
Health education provides opportunities for children to attain and maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit through the education of the "whole child". In Kindergarten Health Education, children acquire the understandings, skills, and confidences needed to practise such behaviours as establishing healthy relationships, following safety guidelines, asking big questions such as "Who am I?", and demonstrating initial steps for developing basic health habits. Exploration of such healthy habits occurs through inquiry
In Kindergarten, the inquiry process is represented as a traffic light (see Figure 1).
As children wonder, investigate, and apply their learning in Kindergarten, the traffic light can be used by either an individual or group of children as a visual reminder of the healthy decision-making process.