Abstract
BackgroundScientific literacy development is widely emphasized as the overarching goal of science education. It encompasses development of understanding of the nature of science as well as knowledge, attitudes, and values that contribute to empowering adolescents to engage with and make evidence-based decisions about socioscientific issues. Scientific literacy development is enhanced when learning is contextualized in exploration of socioscientific issues.Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) associated with a combination of obesity and adverse environmental exposures are examples of pressing health-related SSIs facing the world today. Evidence emerging from the field of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) has identified adolescence as a key life-phase where population-wide education-based interventions that empower teens to engage in science-based health-promoting behaviors could significantly change the course of this epidemic. To achieve this, learning resources that support scientific and health literacy development contextualized in issues linking NCD risk and DOHaD are required.The Healthy Start to Life Education for Adolescents Project is a school-university partnership program designed to support scientific and health literacy development, knowledge translation, and participant-led actions relating to NCD risk prevention. This study assesses the impact of program participation in a cohort of 11–14-year-olds in New Zealand. Evaluation comprised analysis of individually matched questionnaires, pre-, 3 months, and 12 months post-intervention (n = 201) and 6 months post-intervention interviews (n = 40).ResultsPositive engagement in science learning occurred. Positive changes in health-related awareness and attitudes 3 months post-intervention were sustained to 12 months. Adolescents reporting pre-intervention dietary behaviors associated with increased obesity risk reported sustained positive behavior changes (p < .001). Qualitative evidence revealed that these changes resulted from application of scientific and health literacy. This has the potential to improve long-term health outcomes for adolescents and their future offspring. Furthermore, feedback from parents demonstrated that adolescents became science communicators within their families.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that contextualized learning promoting scientific and health literacy development facilitated knowledge translation. This allowed adolescents to decide if, and how, to use scientific evidence in relation to their current and future wellbeing. Exploration of the transferability of scientific and health literacy capabilities, and impacts on future health would enhance understanding of the value of the intervention.
Highlights
Scientific literacy development is widely emphasized as the overarching goal of science education
The World Health Organization is promoting the importance of curriculum-embedded school-based partnerships to support primary noncommunicable disease (NCD) risk reduction
This study examined whether addressing known shortcomings relating to school-based health promotion, such as shared vision, and understanding of pedagogy and practice could demonstrate the value of combining educative and health goals in support of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) translation in the adolescent life stage
Summary
Scientific literacy development is widely emphasized as the overarching goal of science education It encompasses development of understanding of the nature of science as well as knowledge, attitudes, and values that contribute to empowering adolescents to engage with and make evidence-based decisions about socioscientific issues. To achieve this, learning resources that support scientific and health literacy development contextualized in issues linking NCD risk and DOHaD are required. The Healthy Start to Life Education for Adolescents Project is a school-university partnership program designed to support scientific and health literacy development, knowledge translation, and participant-led actions relating to NCD risk prevention. Because the NCD epidemic is a health-related socioscientific issue learning, using this context to facilitate scientific literacy development should support health literacy development (Grace and Bay 2011). Health literacy enables the use of evidence in health-related decision-making (Nutbeam 2008)
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