Comparative Study of Children's Current Health Conditions and Health Education in New Zealand and Japan.

Abstract

In New Zealand (NZ) and Japan, despite comprehensive national health and physical education (HPE) curriculums which guide teachers in delivering health education to children in schools, there continue to be significant health issues for children. A qualitative interpretative descriptive research method was used to compare how primary school teachers (5 New Zealanders, 5 Japanese) in both countries delivered HPE and the influence they believed their teaching had on the childrens health. The major child health issue identified by teachers in NZ was obesity/overweightness, while in Japan teachers identified insufficient sleep, inadequate food intake and the polarization between unfit and fit. In New Zealand, there is some freedom in relation to how the school interprets and delivers HPE that enables the schools to address the specific health needs of their community. However, there is disparity in how the curriculum is delivered, particularly between schools in low and high socio-economic areas. In Japan, the government directs what, when, and how HPE is delivered using government-designated textbooks. Therefore, while there is no disparity in the delivery between schools, teachers cannot customize health education according to their students needs. The flexibility of HPE in NZ is both an advantage in that it enables a creative and innovative teaching approach customized to the community in which the school is situated and a disadvantage in that often health education is decided on not according to the needs of the children but according to the available financial resources and teachers enthusiasm. It appears that even low-quality educational lessons could meet the curriculum standards. In Japan, while children do receive education on health issues that may be useful for the future, the HPE curriculum does not address the current health issues the children face. Moreover, it is difficult to teach all the content within the government-designed HPE textbook because of Japans official time designations for health education. This studys results suggest that both countries need to review the delivery and resourcing of their HPE to ensure that children receive education that addresses their current and future health needs and those of their families.