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Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 31204

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Graça S. Carvalho

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Research Centre on Child Studies (CIEC), Institute of Education, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: biology education; health education; health promotion; children’s health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biology education is a well-established subject in the science curriculum of all countries, generally initiating in the early years of schooling. Health education is often not included in the school curriculum but is a matter of importance in schools, where children and young people spend a large part of their lives. In this environment, they eat, drink, speak about drugs and diseases (recently, about Covid-19), sometimes smoke, fall in love, face stress, and experience a wide range of emotions. During this period of their lives, children and young people need to receive health education, preferentially linked to biology education, as it provides the scientific bases for a sustainable health literacy.

Theoretical and empirical research on biology education and health education and, especially, on links between them, can provide a framework for understanding students’ learning, improving the teaching and learning processes, and promoting cognitive, physical, and emotional development, thus helping children and young people select options and make decisions towards sustainable healthy behaviours.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of original papers presenting theoretical, methodological, and empirical research studies and reviews on ‘Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability’. Studies examining the relationship between learning biology and improving sustainable healthy habits are particularly welcome. Studies on lifestyles and attitudes towards health and the environment as well as other related themes that address biology education and health education in sustainability are also appreciated. Manuscripts must be clear, coherent, and concise, following the journal guidelines.

Prof. Graça S. Carvalho
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

science education
health promoting school
empowerment
science literacy
health literacy

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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35 pages, 8604 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Let’s Ask the Teachers: A Qualitative Analysis of Health Education in Schools and Its Effectiveness

by Laura Laschke, Maren Flottmann and Kirsten Schlüter

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4887; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064887 - 9 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4009

Abstract

There is a need for action in health promotion for children and adolescents. Schools are assumed to be an appropriate place to enable students to behave healthily. Numerous interventions have been piloted in schools, but sustained implementation appears challenging. An alternative approach might be to ask teachers how they conduct health education and what they see as effective. Accordingly, we conducted an explorative study using semi-structured interviews with eleven teachers from secondary schools in Germany in 2019. The interviews focused on different aspects of health education: goals, methods and strategies, effectiveness, possible barriers, and ways to reduce them. We inductively identified six dimensions of effectiveness that teachers believe are relevant for effective health teaching in schools. Regarding methods and strategies, many were mentioned, but only a part was explicitly named as effective. Most of these strategies focus on improving students’ knowledge and skills, followed by strengthening health-promoting attitudes, but rarely promote long-term behavior change. Moreover, it became apparent that some aspects, such as goalsetting and developing action plans, received little attention in lessons, even though they are considered important for successful behavior change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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19 pages, 2146 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Human Biology and Health (HBH) Teaching–Learning Process on Students’ Conceptions of the COVID-19 Vaccine

by Zélia Caçador Anastácio, Thayná Champe Da Silva, Celeste Meirinho Antão, Andrea Stopiglia Guedes Braide, Iara Denise Endruweit Battisti and Graça S. Carvalho

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010041 - 20 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1757

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created the need for universal vaccination. This study aimed to compare university students’ (pre-service teachers) conceptions who had already learned the immune system and vaccination topics in the “Human Biology and Health (HBH)” curricular unit with those who had not yet taken part in it. It also intended to verify the influence of secondary school background, perception of one’s own health, feeling at risk for COVID-19 and their own experience with it and scientific knowledge related to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. It was a cross-sectional study with a mixed methodology for data analysis. A questionnaire was applied online to a sample of 102 university students. Results show that students who had already taken the subject on the immune system and vaccination had more acceptable conceptions about the vaccine and wanted to be vaccinated but not in the initial moment of the national vaccination process. The fear of adverse reactions seemed to be the major hesitancy factor. Furthermore, students’ argumentation showed that their conceptions progressed towards more socio-scientific reasoning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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9 pages, 262 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Association between Knowledge about Anemia, Food Consumption Behaviors, and Hematocrit Level among School-Age Children in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand

by Pastraporn Kaewpawong, Kiatkamjorn Kusol, Onuma Bunkarn and Sirikran Sutthisompohn

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14599; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114599 - 7 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1700

Abstract

Anemia is a significant public health problem among children, especially school-age children, because their body quickly produces red blood cells to provide sufficient blood volume with plasma expansion to maintain blood concentration. This research aimed to study the anemia situation, knowledge about anemia, food consumption behaviors, and the association between knowledge, food consumption behaviors, and hematocrit level among school-age children in primary school, in Thasala district, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. This is a descriptive study among 408 students in grades 4 to 6, aged 9–12 years. Research instruments included the children’s demographic data of the children, their knowledge about anemia, and food consumption behaviors, and hematocrit assessment. Data were analyzed using descriptive, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, and logistic regression statistics. The results revealed that 23.2% of the samples had anemia, 0.98% had moderate anemia, and 22.22% had mild anemia. The children knew about anemia, with the mean score at a moderate level (mean = 6.63; SD = 2.51) out of 10. The mean score on food consumption behaviors was at a moderate level (mean = 17.49; SD = 3.68) out of 24. There were significantly positive correlations between the knowledge about anemia and hematocrit level at a moderate level (r = 0.45, p < 0.001). Food consumption behaviors were moderately correlated with hematocrit level (r = 0.40, p < 0.001). Confirmation with logistic regression found that knowledge about anemia (OR = 9.15, 95% CI: 4.57–18.34) and food consumption behaviors (OR = 19.09, 95% CI: 9.71–37.53) were significantly associated with hematocrit level. Conclusions: This study showed that knowledge about anemia and appropriate food consumption behaviors are associated with hematocrit levels. Enhancing knowledge about anemia and food consumption behaviors may reduce the prevalence of anemia in school-age children. Health care providers in primary care should provide health education and encourage children to eat sufficient food. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

12 pages, 3826 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Do Vaccination Attitudes Mediate the Link between Critical Consciousness and COVID-19 Vaccination Behaviour? A Cross-Sectional Study

by Gabriela Monica Assante and Octav Sorin Candel

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7623; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137623 - 22 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2339

Abstract

Critical consciousness development represents a building block in the formation of health-related attitudes and behaviours. One of the most studied health-related behaviours in the previous year is COVID-19 vaccination behaviour. The present study examines critical consciousness, COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and vaccination behaviour in a consistent sample of young adults (N = 1185). Participants were residents of Romania, aged 18 to 41 years. The Critical Consciousness Scale—Short Form (CCS-S) and the Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale were used. The results demonstrate the mediating role of two types of vaccination attitude—lack of confidence in the promoted vaccine benefits and worries about unforeseen effects—in the relationship between critical reflection and vaccination behaviour. Communication is fundamental in an initiative aimed at changing behaviour. When shaping a health-related campaign, communication and dialogue must be horizontal and characterised by empathy and mutual recognition to determine favourable health-related behaviour. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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8 pages, 425 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Cognitive Functioning Mediates the Association of Cognitive Reserve with Health-Related Quality of Life

by Andreas Ihle, Élvio R. Gouveia, Bruna R. Gouveia, Adilson Marques, Priscila Marconcin, Marcelo de Maio Nascimento, Jefferson Jurema, Maria A. Tinôco and Matthias Kliegel

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 826; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020826 - 12 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1936

Abstract

We investigated whether the relations of the cognitive reserve markers education and cognitive level of work to the physical and the mental component of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were mediated via cognitive functioning in a large sample of 701 older adults (mean age = 70.36 years, SD = 6.87). HRQoL was measured with the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey. To measure cognitive functioning, we used the COGTEL, which is a cognitive test battery assessing prospective memory, verbal short-term memory, verbal long-term memory, working memory, verbal fluency, and inductive reasoning, combined into a composite score. Individuals reported information on their education and their main profession during their working life. Mediation analyses showed that better cognitive functioning mediated the association of higher values in the cognitive reserve markers (longer education and a high cognitive level of work) with higher HRQoL. In conclusion, the present study suggests that the sustainability of cognitive functioning in old age with the help of cognitive reserve is fundamental for the sustainability of quality of life, presumably particularly for the mental HRQoL component. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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8 pages, 277 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parental Perceptions and Behaviors about Children’s Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Portugal

by José Precioso, Isabel Sousa, Carolina Araújo, Cláudia Correia, José Cunha-Machado and Vânia Rocha

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 267; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010267 - 27 Dec 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2484

Abstract

One of the sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all. Tobacco consumption is a serious health problem that affects smokers and non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS), particularly children. This study aims to describe parental perceptions of smoke-free rules, to analyze parental awareness about health risks associated with children’s exposure to SHS, and to describe the prevalence of avoidance behaviors related to tobacco smoke, according to parental smoking status. This study includes 1175 parents from a representative sample of 1511 Portuguese children aged 4 to 9 years old in 2016. Parents who were non-smokers reported a higher level of agreement regarding smoke-free rules at home, inside the car, at playgrounds, and near the school entrance than smokers. A higher percentage of nonsmoking parents agreed that children whose parents smoke at home are more likely to become smokers themselves. Nonsmoking parents reported adopting more avoidance behaviors regarding exposure to SHS. The findings indicate that parental exposure perceptions and avoidance behaviors towards SHS were lower and less frequent among smokers. Health education, smoking cessation programs and smoking bans are needed to raise parental awareness and to protect children from SHS exposure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

13 pages, 999 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Three-Talk Model: Getting Both Evidence and Preferences into a Pre-Service Teacher Health Workshop

by Albert Zeyer and Julia Arnold

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13937; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413937 - 16 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2940

Abstract

We describe a pre-service teacher workshop about sustainable health decisions in school. This one-week workshop had two goals: to improve the ability of students to cope with health and illness as teachers in daily school life, and to improve scientific literacy in health contexts. In this way, the workshop aimed at creating a situation of mutual benefit between science education and health education, as it is suggested in the new science pedagogy called Science|Environment|Health. To reach this aim, the workshop was structured by the evidence-preference approach and the three-talk model, both originally developed for shared-decision making in medicine. In the evidence-preference approach, the experts (the physician, here the teacher) provide the best evidence available, while the laypersons (the patient, here the teacher students) bring in their preferences and, together with the experts, find their personal standpoint. This process is structured by the three-talk model, which is conceived as a characteristic succession of choice talk, option talk, and decision talk. We describe how the pre-service teacher workshop embraced this new approach, compare it to a scientific literacy point of view, and suggest how it could be applied in many other educational contexts, particularly in many issues of education for sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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15 pages, 1769 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Students’ Interests in Biodiversity: Links with Health and Sustainability

by Fernanda Franzolin, Graça S. Carvalho, Carolina Maria Boccuzzi Santana, Andreia dos Santos Calegari, Ester Aparecida Ely de Almeida, João Paulo Reis Soares, Jessica Jorge, Franciele Dutra das Neves and Erika Romanholo Silva Lemos

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13767; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413767 - 13 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4159

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that sustainable actions to preserve biodiversity are critical to preventing new microorganisms from harming human health. In this sense, education and encouraging young people’s interest in local biodiversity are crucial to promoting its preservation and sustainability. This research studied the biodiversity interests of 14–15-year-old students in São Paulo State, focusing on the links between biodiversity and human health. The criterion of maximum variation was used to constitute a heterogeneous sample of students. Students answered a four-point Likert questionnaire. The items in this questionnaire were divided into categories related to the interest of young people in biodiversity, and these were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Wilcoxon test). Categories of biodiversity linked to “health or human utility” were of higher interest to young people than those with no links to human benefits, such as “diversity of organisms”. These findings, along with the literature, showed that young people are interested in biodiversity issues associated with human health. Therefore, teaching biodiversity should reflect on new possibilities for making a more sustainable environment and promoting social and environmental justice, fundamental aspects of promoting and guaranteeing human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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11 pages, 234 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Pandemics Such as COVID-19 through the Lenses of the “One Health” Approach

by Blanca Puig and Araitz Uskola

Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13389; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313389 - 3 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2162

Abstract

This study aims to contribute to research on systemic thinking in biology education, particularly how to best equip pre-service teachers to introduce health problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic using the “One Health” approach. We attempt to explore to what extent a group of pre-service teachers identify our lifestyle and relationships with nature as factors that contribute to the emergence of future pandemics. The research questions are as follows: (1) What dimensions of the One Health approach did the students identify as potential causes that can produce and prevent future pandemics such as the COVID-19 disease? (2) To what extent did the students show a systemic view aligned to the One Health approach? The participants were 43 pre-service elementary teachers working on a set of activities about the COVID-19 pandemic, in which they were asked about the potential causes of and ways to prevent future pandemics. Content analysis of individual written responses is applied for addressing the research questions, focusing on the dimensions of the One Health approach and the level of system thinking reflected. Most participants focused on the human dimension and a few mentioned environmental and animal dimensions, which points to the need to integrate the One Health notion into teacher training. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

32 pages, 412 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Health and Land-Use Courses of Action for Education for Sustainable Development in Madagascar: Teacher Perspectives on Possibilities for Implementation

by Janna Niens and Susanne Bögeholz

Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13308; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313308 - 1 Dec 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2134

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) plays a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the implementation of ESD in education remains a challenge, particularly for countries such as Madagascar. ESD needs to consider regional realities to be relevant to learners. An expert study identified health and land-use courses of action for regionally relevant ESD in northeast Malagasy primary education. However, what about teacher perspectives on the possibilities for implementing such courses of action? The present think-aloud study with 10 Malagasy primary teachers used the Integrated Behavioral Model for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (IBM-WASH) to analyze factors that teachers perceive to be relevant for implementing health and also—as an innovation—land-use courses of action. The IBM-WASH model is a tool for identifying opportunities and barriers to a desired health behavior. It turned out that the local school’s surroundings, shared values and attitudes, and existing habits are important for implementing health and land-use courses of action. Therefore, regionally adapted health and land-use teaching should consider community-contextual, community-psychosocial, and habitual-psychosocial factors. Additionally, teachers mentioned the costs and benefits of land-use practices. Thus, land-use teaching should take the individual-technological factor into account. This paper argues for a regionally adapted ESD in teacher and school education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

19 pages, 290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

by Michal Zion and Hagit Cohen

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1939; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041939 - 11 Feb 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2146

Abstract

Biology education has adopted the goal of educating future generations about sustainable, healthy habits. The current paper focuses on drinking-related nutritional literacy—the characteristic of health education that refers to aspects of healthy drinking: drinking enough water and fewer sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The study aims to foster school students’ critical thinking about the quality and the quantity of what they drink in everyday life. Facilitating students’ metacognitive awareness was achieved, as they were engaged in a biology learning activity centered on the importance of healthy drinking in everyday life. The study focused on two research questions: 1. What is the contribution of drinking-related metacognitive guidance to the development of metacognitive awareness concerning healthy drinking among students? 2. What is the contribution of drinking-related metacognitive guidance to the way students express the principles and importance of healthy drinking as part of their metacognitive awareness thinking process? The findings indicate a quantitative and qualitative improvement in drinking-related metacognitive awareness among those students who received metacognitive guidance as part of biology teaching. This paper suggests that metacognitive guidance has a significant pedagogical potential to improve sustainable healthy habits among children. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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17 pages, 2378 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Preparedness and Response to COVID-19 Disruptions and Learning Challenges for Students with Disabilities in South Africa: A Systematic Review

by Sibonokuhle Ndlovu

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1420; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021420 - 11 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1858

Abstract

The present study utilised the systematic review method to report on the learning challenges faced by students with disabilities as a result of inadequate preparedness for COVID-19 and the response to the pandemic in the context of institutions of higher education in South Africa. The studies reviewed indicated that, although there were variations between institutions, South African higher education institutions were inadequately prepared for COVID-19 and, as a result, the response to the pandemic involved emergency remote teaching. For students with disabilities, it was revealed that the limited support and the changes to the way learning was taking place in institutions posed challenges during the pandemic. Limited access to content knowledge was an issue even before COVID-19, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic. Conclusions reached showed that there were challenges imposed by the pandemic in addition to those that existed before, which were only exacerbated and magnified by COVID-19. Practical ways are suggested in which anticipative and transformative resilience could be utilised by all stakeholders in institutions of higher education, to pre-prepare for pandemics. Ways of applying a universal design for learning in the “new normal” to enhance learning for all students, including those with disabilities, also contributed in a practical way to the conclusions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology Education and Health Education in Sustainability)

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