The Importance of Health Education in Schools: Benefits & Impact

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 Health and health education 

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or informity. It is a state of normal functional equilibrium or homeostasis. 
Health education is a process through which people learn about their health and specifically how to improve it. It is an educational programme directed to the general public which attempts to improve, maintain and safeguard the health care of the community. 

Objectives of health education 

  1. Optimum development of the individual with special reference to physical and emotional Development. 
  2. Betterment of the human relationship from the point of view of health.
  3. Application of health facts and principles in respect to economic efficiency in the production and consumption of goods and services. 

Importance of health education to learners/children. 

  • The child has more capacity to assimilate education and can be moulded into any shape
  • It helps the children to obtain health habits and attitudes. 
  • It is transmitted through the school to the parents and the community. 
  • Without health life is deprived of its usefulness, joy and pleasures. 
  • It's important to promote and maintain health education in schools because students will reach a level healthy, strength and energy that will match the remainder of their lives. 
  • Learners have a sense of uniqueness and don't feel vulnerable to think that illness and disease cannot attack them. 

Mental health 

It is a state of well being in whichan individual realise his / her own abilities , can cope with normal stresses of life,can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his/ her own community. It is one when a person sees a reality as it responds to its challenges and develops a reasonable strategy for living. A mentally healthy person has  compassion and feelings for other people. Mental health accepts limitations and possibilities of reality. Its determined by social-economic, biological and environmental factors. 

Ways of promoting mental health among learners. 

  1. Early child interventions eg. Home visits for pregnant women, psychosocial activities in pre-schoolers.
  2. Social-economic empowerment for women eg. improving access to education and micro- credit facilities. 
  3. Supporting ecological changes in schools and building child friendly schools. 
  4. Stress prevention programmes among the learners and teachers. 
  5. Violence prevention programmes. 

Ways of promoting mental health among teachers. 

  1. Putting pleasure to teachers in terms of performance and deadlines. 
  2. Motivation and remuneration in salaries and allowances.
  3. Good working environment or working conditions. 
  4. Leadership styles. 
  5. Work relationships between colleagues and pupils behaviours 

Causes of mental breakdown among students. 

  • Stress of exams. About 50% of the stress is on exams. 
  • Family breakdown which involves parents conflicts, divorce and separation. 
  • Pressure to look good especially by peers. 
  • Pressure to perform well especially from parents. 
  • Overcrowded curriculum with no room for play. 
  • Children expected to behave like adults. 
  • Lack of parental support. 
  • The classroom environment with insufficient learning materials. 
  • The students behaviours/interpersonal behaviours such as fights and anxiety. 
  • The teachers behaviours ie. Projecting their angers to students. 

Effects of poor mental health among learners. 

  • The students experience greater anxiety about learning than other learners .
  • The mental health may be varied with good and bad days which affects their school attendance, punctuality and behaviour. 
  • Its common for students to lack confidence and have low esteem despite having the same full range of abilities like the rest.
  • Learners may suffer from depression which is manifested by low mood,lack of motivation, sense of emptiness etc.
  • They suffer from anxiety which is exhibited by agitations, disturbed sleep patterns, headaches,panic attacks etc.

Emotions

Emotions are strong generalised feelings such as fear ,anger, grief, sadness, happiness etc. Emotions may cause physical reactions. Mentally healthy people make their emotions work for them. 

Frustration 

Frustrations occur when a person is prevented from reaching a goal because something or someone stands on the way. Frustration may be threatening or non threatening. 

Sources of frustrations

  • Environmental obstacles such as floods ,earthquake, drought etc.
  • Delay
  • Lack of resources/poverty.
  • Loses of a loved in a relationship. 
  • Failures
  • Discrimination based on gender,religion,age,skin colour etc. 
  • Personal obstacles like lack of intellectual potential, health,lack of skills in games etc. 
  • Physical appearance eg fatness or shortness.
  • Physical disabilities. 

How can a teacher reduce learners frustration 

  • To demonstrate how learning should be done
  • Students should be given more exercises to perfect on the practice. 
  • The teacher should help the student to be more independent in class.
  • Combine excellent teaching and listening skills 
  • Provide skills necessary to avoid obstacles and challenges hat the students could be facing. 
  • Be a role model to the students so that they can imitate you.
  • Check on the physical facilities in the school. 

Conflict and health

Conflicts occur when we face two or more incompatible demands, opportunities, needs or goals. It is the inability to decide on the next cause of action.when conflict persists we develop frustrations. 

Types of conflicts 

1.Approach-approach(conflicting attraction)

This is where the person is faced with two appealing goals spontaneously. 
The goals are mutually exclusive ie chosing one means and losing the other eg. When you are offered a very good paying job and admission to university. 

2. Approach-avoidance conflict

Here the person is both attracted to and repelled by the Same conflict. The goal has a negative aspect Attached to it. This is the most common form of conflict. The decision taken will involve acceptance of the consequences and should be done promptly to minimise stress eg .a journalist who covers a film in a risky environment. 

3. Avoidance-Avoidance conflict

This is when one is faced with two undesirable or threatening possibilities neither of which has any positive attributes. When faced with this type of conflict people ussually try to escape the situation all together. It is impossible to avoid one alternative with experiencing the other. If this escape is possible people sometimes wait for events to solve themselves eg. In a tall building which is on fire ,one chose either to jump down or wait to burn.

Pressure 

Pressure occurs when we feel forced to speed up,to intestify or shift direction in our behaviour or when we compelled to reach a higher or focus.
In our private lives,trying to live up to social and cultural norms about what we should  be doing as well as our families and friends expectations also adds pressure to meeting our personal needs. 

Defence mechanisms

These are specific technics used to protect one's self from unpleasantness , shame, anxiety, or loss of self esteem. 

Types of defence mechanisms 

1. Rationalisation 

This is the use of excuses to substitute for real reasons behind one's action eg. I failed exams because I was sick.

2. Projection

This is blaming someone else to cover up personal failure. 

3. Displacement. 

This is taking angers or frustration out on someone else eg.  Overreacting over minor incidences.eg.frlm the wife,from the husband, or by the teacher  to students due to head teacher.

4. Fantasising 

It is a way of avoiding reality which often delay action to make change. It is the Tendency to resort to unrealistic solutions.

5. Withdrawal. 

This is removing oneself physically from an uncomfortable or frightening situation. Eg children closing themselves in a room when parents are fighting. 

6. Denial 

This is avoiding to face the truth or refusal to acknowledge reality. This would cause serious/deep psychological problems. 

7. Compensation. 

This is make- up for our weakness by becoming good in some other areas eg. A student who does not perform well in class but does well in games.

Psychological Disorders 

These are patterns of disturbed behaviour, mood,thinking or perception that cause distress or impaired functions. They are also refered to as mental disorders or mental illness.  They include illness like schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and major dippressive disorders. 

Causes of psychological disorders 

  1. Biological model. It Views that psychological disorders have biochemical psychological disorders. 
  2. Psychoanalytic model. It views that psychological disorders result from unconscience internal conflicts.
  3. Cognitive behavioural model . It Views that psychological disorders result from learning mal-adaptive behaviours or ways of thinking and this can be unlearned.

Types of psychological Disorders 

1. Mood disorders 

These are disturbances in moods or Prolonged emotional states.

Types of mood disorders 

. Depression 

This is a mood disorder characterised by overwhelming feelings of sadness  ,lack of interest in activities and excessive guilty or feelings of worthlessness. 

Signs of depression 

  • Loss of interest in pleasures and normal activities.
  • Depressed mood ie sadness or feeling empty.
  • Significant weight loss or gain
  • Sleep disturbances/too much or lack of sleep. 
  • Disturbances in motor activities eg restlessness, argutation etc
  • Fatigue or constantly tired .
  • Loss of appetite or too much appetite. 
  • Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilty. 
  • Inability to concentrate or focus attention to something. 
  • Recurrent thoughts of death. 

. Mania

It is characterised by euphoric state, extreme physical activity, excessive talkativeness,distructedness etc. Euphoric is feeling high.

. Bi-polar disorder 

This is a mood disorder in which periods of depression and mania alternate. sometimes with normal moods intervene. Sometimes someone is depressed and some other times the person is feeling glad.

Causes of mood Disorders 

  • Biological factors eg.  Genetic factors, chemical imbalances of the brain which causes high or low levels of neuro-transmitters 
  • Psychological factors. They include cognitive distortions that is mal -adaptive response to early negative life events that leads to feelings of incompetence and unworthiness which are reactivated whenever a new situation arises that resembles the original events. 
  • Social factors. People who have difficulties in interpersonal can cause disorders. 

2. Anxiety Disorders 

These are disordersin which anxiety is a characteristics feature or the avoidance of anxiety seems to activate abnormal behaviour. 

Types of anxiety disorders 

A.Phorbia

Types of phorbia

  • Specific phorbia . It is an anxiety disorder characterised by intense paralysing fear of something. The fear is excessive and unreasonable. 
  • Social phorbia. This is excessive inappropriate fear connected with social  situations or performances infront of other people. 
  • Agoraphobia. It involves multiple intense, fear of crowds,public places,or situations that requires separation from a source of security such as home. 

B. Panic

This is anxiety disorder characterised by recurrent panic attacks in which the person suddenly experiences intense fear or terror without any reasonable cause. 

C. Generalised anxiety disorder 

This is characterised by Prolonged vague but intense fears that are not attached to any particular object or circumstances. 

D. Obsessive-compulsive disorder 

This is an  anxiety disorder in which a person feels driven to think, disturbing thoughts or perform senseless rituals.

3. Schizophrenia or psychosis

This is a disorder in which a person loses touch with reality. Its a complex disorder characterised by hallucination, delusion, disturbances in speech and other symptoms. It is so serious and disruptive to the person that they often must be removed from society at least temporary for their own protection and to undergo treatment. 

Symptoms of schizophrenia 

  • Disturbances of language or thought. There is loss of association so that one idea doesn't follow logically to other. They can create words of their own. They are easily distructed by anything. 
  • Disturbances in perception. They experience hallucination. 
  • Disturbances of emotions or mood. They have inappropriate or unusual emotional reaction, some show no emotion at all.
  • Disturbances in behaviour. They have unusual action which can take incredible range of thoughts eg. Steering at the floor for hours or pacing back and forth mumbling. 
  • Disturbances in social functions. Their relationships with others deteroriate and they experience increasing isolation and withdrawal.

Causes of schizophrenia 

  • Genetic factors or inherited. 
  • Family factors. A Family creates a social environment that keeps children at risk of schizophrenia eg. High levels of conflict in the family.
  • Cognitive factors
  • Brain dysfunction 
  • Biochemical factors . High or low levels of neuro-transmitters. 

Conclusion:

Health education in schools is essential for promoting lifelong wellness, preventing diseases, and empowering students with the knowledge to make informed health choices. Integrating it into the curriculum ensures a healthier future for individuals and communities.














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