This study assessed the feasibility and impact of introducing a programme of an additional 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity within curriculum time on learning and readiness to learn in a large elementary school in south-east Queensland, Australia. The programme, Active Kids Active Minds (AKAM), involved Year 5 students (n = 107),…

This paper will consider ways in which students are constructed as aliens in health classrooms. Creating the classroom as a setting for health promotion requires closer attention to those who make use of such space. If classrooms are places where diversity exists and is recognised, then health educators are challenged to consider how students are…

Health literacy research and scholarship has largely overlooked the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities (ID), though growing concern about the health inequalities they face has increasingly given rise to health promotion interventions for this group. However, these interventions reference a rather limited vision of health literacy…

Health-related knowledge has been assumed to inform lifestyle choices for school-aged students. A "health-promoting school" provides the conceptual framework for this intervention. A large boarding school developed, implemented and refined a Nutritional Symbol System for their dining hall. The effectiveness of this social marketing…

This paper critically analyzes a community collaborative approach for implementing Health and Physical Education (HPE) lessons within Gippsland primary schools (Victoria, Australia). The rural community collaborations reflected upon are embedded within the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) "School…

In March 2012, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) released for public consultation the Shape Paper for the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (HPE) that was finalized for publication in August 2012. This paper set out the key propositions for a "futures-oriented" curriculum suggesting…

The draft Australian Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2012c) takes a strengths-based approach that emphasizes questions such as "What keeps me healthy and active?" rather than "What risks, diseases and behaviours should I learn to avoid?". This…

The concept of "health literacy" is becoming increasingly prominent internationally, and it has been identified as one of the five key propositions that underpin the forthcoming Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (ACHPE). The ACHPE is one of few national curricula to explicitly refer to health literacy, identifying it…

A critical inquiry approach is one of five key characteristics that have shaped the development of the new Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (AC: HPE). However, what this means is open to interpretation. In the various documents leading to the consultation draft AC: HPE and in this document itself, critical inquiry is used in…

International health and education sectors alike readily support the argument that healthy young people who attend school tend to learn better, and a good education influences the development of a healthier population. Such sentiments recognize the interaction between schools and young people, and the overall experience of attending school as…

Health education in New Zealand schools has a chequered history, peppered with controversy since its inclusion as a school subject in the early nineteenth century. In this paper we examine the trials and challenges faced by health education teachers over time, pointing to the particular components of this subject that are regarded as controversial…

As a school subject, physical education (PE) in Singapore took on its own shape with the introduction of a conceptual games teaching approach in response to the national government's "Thinking Schools, Learning Nation" policy of the late 1990s. With the recent media attention on hosting two main international events (Asian Youth Games and the…

Workplace wellness initiatives are currently unreflective of the multidimensional and holistic nature of the wellness construct. There exists an opportunity for promoters of health to move toward models of workplace wellness promotion that more fully appreciate the interconnected nature of health dimensions and promote them even-handedly. The Blue…

Wellness is now seen as central to redefining the National Health agenda. There is growing evidence that contact with nature and physical activity in nature has considerable positive effects on human health. At the most basic level humanity is reliant on the natural world for resources such as air and water. However, a growing body of research is…

The perceived benefits of Wellness Education in University environments are substantiated by a number of studies in relation to the place, impact and purpose of Wellness curricula. Many authors recommend that Wellness curriculum design must include personal experiences, reflective practice and active self-managed learning approaches in order to…