A case for connecting school-based health education in Aotearoa New Zealand to critical health literacy

ABSTRACT

Critical health literacy (CHL) and more specifically the development of young people's CHL in school-based health education is an under-explored area in research. This is despite health literacy being viewed as a critical determinant of health in contemporary times (World Health Organization. (2016a). The mandate for health literacy. https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/9gchp/health-literacy/en/) and the ever-growing recognition of the need for people to be critical consumers and producers of knowledge in the twenty-first century. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative study which explored the learning experiences and outcomes of senior secondary school-based health education in Aotearoa New Zealand. We conducted a deductive thematic analysis based upon a range of authors' descriptions of the components of CHL. Our findings indicate multiple ways in which health education has the potential to connect to the development of CHL, with these organized into four themes: Taking individual and collective action to promote health, interpersonal awareness and skills, knowledge of community and political structures and social determinants of health, critical thinking and appraisal of health-related information. We conclude the paper with implications for policy and practice relating to CHL in our complex times, as well as avenues for future inquiry in this under-researched area.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical health literacy
• health education
• determinants of health
• social justice
• health promotion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Senior secondary education in Aotearoa refer to years 11–13; the final three years of secondary school in the country. Here, learning is assessed for Levels 1–3 of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement.

2 From here, Aotearoa.

3 Statistics are released annually by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. Data for recent years in health education indicate around 10% of students entered into the subject were male.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship.

Notes on contributors

Rachael Dixon

Rachael Dixon is a lecturer in the Faculty of Health at the University of Canterbury. Her research interests include senior secondary health education, critical health literacy in school health education and creative approaches to inquiry.

Gillian Abel

Gillian Abel is Professor and Head of Department in the Department of Population Health at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Her research expertise is in community-based participatory approaches which she uses to explore policy impacts on the health, safety and human rights of marginalised population groups.

Lisette Burrows

Lisette Burrows is Professor in Community Health at Te Huataki Waiora, University of Waikato. She has been researching and teaching in the health and physical education sphere for over 20 years.