SCHOOL PROGRAMME

 

The health education curriculum, as designed, is in essence a prevention measure aimed at primary prevention of risk-behaviour among students. It is founded on the personality-oriented approach where the focus of education is the personality of the student.

The key emphasis in learning is on acquiring social skills. Training (education) to acquire social skills strives to improve mental and social skills while accommodating the cultural background and developmental proficiency of the student, aiding personality and social advancement and preventing health-related and social problems.

Scientific research shows that social skill training (skills for life) is most effective when delivered through the so-called “interactive teaching”. Interactive teaching seeks active participation of students in the education process rather than passive acceptance of ready-made ideas and rules. Interactive learning presupposes an independent quest and consideration of arguments and counterarguments, problem-solving and choice of conduct in situations resembling real life. This type of learning does not simply imply the transfer and acceptance of knowledge, skills and behaviour but also scrutiny. This type of learning is founded upon the experiential learning and the resulting accumulation of experience. It provokes students to assume responsibility for their conduct, encourages the effective utilization of personal potential in a variety lifelike situations, motivates the individual to seek and take independent decisions. The main methods used in the health education curriculum comprise individual and group work, discussions, case studies, role plays, debates, among others.

The curriculum in question targets students from grade 8 through 12.

The main goal of the health education curriculum is to provide students with knowledge, to adopt a positive attitude, to acquire skills for healthy lifestyle, to avoid risk-behaviour and to hone pro-social behaviour.

The key objectives of the curriculum are:

• To impart knowledge to students about the different aspects of health, healthy lifestyle, sexual relations, drug substances, personal and social consequences of their use and of risk-behaviour in general;
• To foster a positive attitude in students about personal health, healthy lifestyle, independent informed and responsible choices;
• To assist students in acquiring diverse social skills associated with communicability, assertiveness, value clarification, decision-making, stress management, goal setting, emotion-management, conflict resolution and problem solving based on informed choice, and assuming responsibility for one’s conduct.

The health education curriculum is comprised of 36 lessons intended for grades 8, 9, 10 and 11. The same number of lessons is scheduled to be delivered to grade 12 as well. These 36 lessons are structured in three modules, identical for all classes, and are titled Personality and Health, Health and Sexuality, Drugs – Risk-Behaviour.

In summary, the content of the modules can be presented in the following manner:

• Personality and Health Module: health and healthy lifestyle, risky and protective factors, individual and social health projections, personal choice and responsible health, communication, physical and mental health, the essence of high-risk behaviour and risk assessment;

• Health and Sexuality Module: the emphasis is placed on the idiosyncrasy of sexual development, sexual relationships and health; high-risk behaviour in sexual relations; sexual roles, attitudes and expectations, perception of sexual life as a recognized responsibility;

• Drugs and High-risk Behaviour Module: this module principally explores drug use as a risk to health; types of psychotropic substances; peer pressure, assertive behaviour, risk assessment skills, generation of alternatives to drug use; evaluation of individual strengths and weaknesses; acquiring skills to handle risky situations, involving the supply and use of drugs.

It should be noted that the health education curriculum modules for the different grades cannot be presented piecemeal. The topics in the modules for the different grades are interrelated, subordinated to a common philosophy and conceptualization and cannot be used to fill in free classes or to run “crash courses” on sexual health and drugs. Holding health education classes for just a year in grade 8, for example, would also prove ineffective vis-a-vis students knowledge and behaviour. The health education curriculum would be effective only if during implementation its structural and organizational integrity is preserved, in compliance with the method guidelines intrinsic to the terms of reference.

As was noted already, the health education curriculum comprises 36 lessons per class, grades 8 through 12. These 36 school classes incorporate varying in number topics for the different grades because a topic cannot be exhausted in one, two or three school classes. Provisionally, the topics in the different grades can be divided into “basic”, and “advanced”. Basic topics in every grade require 18 academic hours. They form the foundation of the health education curriculum and encompass quintessential knowledge and skills that students need to master, and thus achieve the majority of goals and objectives the curriculum pursues, while at the same time meeting the prevention targets in various aspects of the life of adolescents. This provisional separation allows schools with limited resources to include the health education programme in their curriculum to the full extent, present it within the 18 academic hours and tackle only the designated “basic” subject areas.

The Health Education Curriculum also features teacher and student study material.