Healthy living! : developing and piloting a health education programme for year 6 students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore what type of Health Education was being provided in Maltese Primary schools and to develop an original Health Education programme accordingly. Since various research studies had been conducted locally about different aspects of Health Education in different Primary year groups, the researcher decided to focus on Year 6 students since this was felt to be the optimum time for students to learn higher level Health Education, yet in a more informal way after sitting for the Junior Lyceum examinations. The research commenced by first uncovering what learning activities are typically organised after the Junior Lyceum examinations and what are the teachers' expectations of a potential Health Education programme. This involved a Needs Analysis among a sample of Year 6 teachers from across the Maltese Islands, together with a representative sample of Home Economics Seminar Centre teachers. The results confirmed that Health Education was lacking in the Primary curriculum due to the vast syllabus, as well as lack of time, teachers, resources and formal training, together with the absence of a formal Health Education curriculum. With all this in mind, the researcher designed and piloted a cross-curricular Health Education programme to be conducted as a 3- day seminar with Year 6 students after their Junior Lyceum examinations. The Health Education programme's learning activities and necessary resources were compiled in a Teacher's Handbook, which a class teacher could adapt and use according to the students' needs. Feedback was sought from the Head teacher, class teacher and students from the school involved in the pilot. This was considered in conjunction with the researcher's own critical reflection. All in all, this research highlighted the importance of a formal Health Education curriculum for Primary schools, and presenting one alternative of how it could be included successfully for Year 6 students.