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Curriculum and pedagogy in wellness education : a proposal for a wellness course for Grade 11/12 students in BC

Birchett, Chrissy

Wellness has been defined in many ways. One definition suggests that wellness is “a way of life oriented toward optimal health and well-being in which the body, mind and spirit are integrated by the individual to live more fully within the human and natural community” (Myers et al., 2005, p. 252). Wellness can be separated into various dimensions. In this paper, I use the eight dimensions that Kihm and McGregor (2020) outlined for Home Economics: emotional, social, spiritual, physical, occupational, environmental, financial, and intellectual. Together they are often represented as a wellness wheel. I created a wellness model with specific subsections based on the literature review, that indicates that all areas of wellness are connected to reach a holistic state of wellbeing. Currently in B.C. schools, courses are offered covering some aspects of wellness, such as nutrition, physical activity, and personal health (mental, emotional, and sexual health, personal choices, relationships), but the learning is fragmented and in senior courses (11 and 12), many of the wellness concepts are not covered. There is no mandatory class that cover all the dimensions of wellness in grade 11/12. This has led to my guiding question: what should a holistic wellness course entail in terms of curriculum and pedagogy? The culmination of my inquiry is the creation of a wellness course using the outline for a Board Authorized and Approved (BAA) course. My hope is that I can present my findings to my administration and implement a course that covers the suggested curriculum in wellness, for grade 11/12 students.

Text

University of British Columbia. EDCP 590

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0437710

Education, Faculty of; Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of

Graduate

DSpace