Youth Empowerment in Environmental Health through School-Based Hands-on Project Learning

Background

Despite the fact that both empowerment and self-participation are recognized as critical components of school health promotion, it is rare that the students in the classroom are provided with opportunities to influence their own physical environment. The participation of young people has been documented in community change, but there is little evidence of them actively engaged in making their schools healthier. 

Objectives

By engaging students in primary school (6^th-8^th grades at the Mare Island Health and Fitness Academy in Vallejo, California) in hands-on learning about their own environment and its role in their health, this study empowers students to identify and take steps that reduce their environmental health risks.  The project involves a two-way partnership in learning and teaching between MPH students and faculty and MIHFA students and teachers.

Methods

The final curriculum content incorporates feedback from focus groups with the youth leadership team and the middle-school science teachers. Surveys before and after students participate in classroom workshops provides information regarding changes in student interest, knowledge, behavior, empowerment and attitudes regarding environmental health concepts and the one’s potential in both risk generation and exposure mitigation.  . 

Results

Surveys are being conducted following the classroom workshops each year, and comparisons will look at overall change for students’ attitudes after three years of participation.

Implications

Children rarely have the control over factors in their environment that affect their health.  This project involves them directly in thinking about potential environmental risks in their lives, identifying them, and contributing ideas that may help to reduce or eliminate those risks.