EDCURRIC233 (Semester 2, 2014) Final reflective statement
This course did not particularly change my view towards health and wellbeing. But instead, it has reinforced my understanding of holistic health and the implication of a critical approach. From my understanding, there are two major learning intentions for us: first, to emphasize the significance of holistic health, the complex and interdependent nature of the health concepts; second, to adapt a more liberal attitude towards health and wellbeing, and recognize the societal influences on individuals or groups. These two learning intentions posed challenges to the traditional and the mainstream ways (medicalisation) of thinking about health and wellbeing, they might contradict some of the students' ideas and attitudes.
During this semester, this course had strengthened my ideas about health and wellbeing in various ways. The key readings provided me insight of different health concepts (Durie, 1994 & Ministry of Health, 2013). Each health concept or model is not exclusively significant to a particular culture, and I have learnt how to relate these health concept to our daily experience. I find these concepts quite fascinating because myself is from a different cultural background, all of these health concepts were absolutely foreign to me. Especially the Whare Tapa Wha model, it is very important for me to understand this idea, because it is under the key concept of "Hauora" that underpins HPE curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1999).
From my point of view, Crawford's article on "Healthism" (1980) is the most profound reading in the course. In the article, Crawford argues that although holistic health provides a border, non-medicalised approach to understand of health, it is still restricted in the level of individual. That means personal responsibility remain to be the focus of holistic health. In long term, it is not a effective health promotion because it does not emphasize the complex nature of the society.
In my first year of university (BSc, geography), I studied GEO 102 "Geography of the Human Environment" as one of the fundamental papers. I vividly remember that the lecturer would constantly draw linkage to the perception of "self and others", saying: "once you understood the notion of 'self and others', trust me, it stays in your head". It indeed has an influence on my thinking in various ways, I perceive it as the first step for thinking critically.
The notion of "self and others" is very similar to one of the key concepts in HPE suggested by NZ curriclum, socio-ecological perspective (Ministry of Education, 1999). When understanding current youth health issues, we have to take account of multiple underlying factors (age, gender, class, culture, ethnicity, social, environmental, etc) that are affecting adolescents health and their health related decisions. Therefore, health is never a simplistic issues that merely involve a bunch of statistical data and some scientific measurement of the physical.
The purpose of health education is not solely about learning the scientific facts (Fitzpatrick, 2011). It is more important to tackle the areas that are deem to be "slippery and grey" (Cliff et al, 2009). So students will start to think about the social and cultural influences behind each health issue. Therefore, instead of learning all the facts posted by the mainstream media, students should learning about the underlying factors behind each health issue. In this way, learning will become part of the empowering process. The influences will extend to a border scale, and thus a more effective way to promote social justice.
To sum up, this course suggests a different approach to understand health and wellbeing. It gives us idea of how to think critically in a correct manner (Fitzpatrick, 2011). Now I am more concern with health related new, and try to analyze them with a sociocultural perspective. In the future, I would like to go further to understand the power relations of the society that are affecting the people attitudes and behaviors.
During this semester, this course had strengthened my ideas about health and wellbeing in various ways. The key readings provided me insight of different health concepts (Durie, 1994 & Ministry of Health, 2013). Each health concept or model is not exclusively significant to a particular culture, and I have learnt how to relate these health concept to our daily experience. I find these concepts quite fascinating because myself is from a different cultural background, all of these health concepts were absolutely foreign to me. Especially the Whare Tapa Wha model, it is very important for me to understand this idea, because it is under the key concept of "Hauora" that underpins HPE curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1999).
From my point of view, Crawford's article on "Healthism" (1980) is the most profound reading in the course. In the article, Crawford argues that although holistic health provides a border, non-medicalised approach to understand of health, it is still restricted in the level of individual. That means personal responsibility remain to be the focus of holistic health. In long term, it is not a effective health promotion because it does not emphasize the complex nature of the society.
In my first year of university (BSc, geography), I studied GEO 102 "Geography of the Human Environment" as one of the fundamental papers. I vividly remember that the lecturer would constantly draw linkage to the perception of "self and others", saying: "once you understood the notion of 'self and others', trust me, it stays in your head". It indeed has an influence on my thinking in various ways, I perceive it as the first step for thinking critically.
The notion of "self and others" is very similar to one of the key concepts in HPE suggested by NZ curriclum, socio-ecological perspective (Ministry of Education, 1999). When understanding current youth health issues, we have to take account of multiple underlying factors (age, gender, class, culture, ethnicity, social, environmental, etc) that are affecting adolescents health and their health related decisions. Therefore, health is never a simplistic issues that merely involve a bunch of statistical data and some scientific measurement of the physical.
The purpose of health education is not solely about learning the scientific facts (Fitzpatrick, 2011). It is more important to tackle the areas that are deem to be "slippery and grey" (Cliff et al, 2009). So students will start to think about the social and cultural influences behind each health issue. Therefore, instead of learning all the facts posted by the mainstream media, students should learning about the underlying factors behind each health issue. In this way, learning will become part of the empowering process. The influences will extend to a border scale, and thus a more effective way to promote social justice.
To sum up, this course suggests a different approach to understand health and wellbeing. It gives us idea of how to think critically in a correct manner (Fitzpatrick, 2011). Now I am more concern with health related new, and try to analyze them with a sociocultural perspective. In the future, I would like to go further to understand the power relations of the society that are affecting the people attitudes and behaviors.