Fostering pupils' critical health literacy: examining the potential of physical education in lower secondary school

Anders L Hage Haugen; Kirsti Riiser; Marc Esser-Noethlichs; Ove Edvard Hatlevik

doi:10.3389/fspor.2023.1205716

Fostering pupils' critical health literacy: examining the potential of physical education in lower secondary school

Front Sports Act Living. 2023 Jun 13:5:1205716. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1205716. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Anders L Hage Haugen¹, Kirsti Riiser², Marc Esser-Noethlichs³, Ove Edvard Hatlevik³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Teacher Education and International Studies, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
² Faculty of Health Science, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
³ Faculty of International Studies and Teacher Education, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract

Background: In Norway, the introduction of an interdisciplinary subject named Public Health and Life skills has brought about renewed attention to how health is conceptualized and taught within and across school subjects. Physical education (PE) is one subject that has traditionally been linked to health outcomes. However, a narrow focus on increased physical activity as the main outcome of PE could be counterproductive in the pursuit of health. Critical health literacy (CHL) is put forward as a resource for health that can be nurtured in the PE context; this study hypothesizes that academic achievement in PE is positively associated with some aspects of CHL.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 521 pupils aged 13-15 years old from five lower secondary schools in Norway. Structural equation models were used as the primary statistical analysis to test the hypothesis. The study controlled for parents' education, leisure physical activity, and participation in sports club activities.

Results: The results confirm the hypothesis, showing a positive and significant association between PE and CHL. The association remains when controlling for parents' education, leisure physical activity, and participation in sports club activities ( $β^{\hat{}}$ _PE→_CHL-C1= 0.264, p = 0.001; $β^{\hat{}}$ _PE→_CHL-C2= 0.351, p < 0.000).

Conclusion: In our sample, academic achievement in PE was associated with higher levels of CHL. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the health benefits of PE. We argue that a resource-based health perspective can produce the appropriate aims for health in PE contexts and that the CHL concept contributes to illuminating key areas, promoting suitable teaching strategies, and bringing balance between an individual and collective focus for future health education, both within PE and across different subjects in school contexts.

Keywords: adolescents; critical health literacy; health; lower secondary school; physical education (P.E.); quantitative research approaches.

Grants and funding

The present research is part of the Literacies for Health and Life Skills project (https://uni.oslomet.no/hls/, accessed on 1 March 2023), which is funded by the Research Council of Norway (funding period 2020−2023, project number: 301598).