Health and wellbeing

Sustainability in the Health and wellbeing curriculum

AuSSI Sustainability Workshop
Tuesday, 11 March and Wednesday, 12 March 2008

The key questions below have been extracted from a broader set of questions which are being developed for each strand of the Health and wellbeing curriculum. These questions have been identified as having the strongest connection to sustainability.

Strand	Standard 1	Standard 2	Standard 3	Standard 4	Standard 5
Strand 1: Understanding health and wellbeing	What makes me healthy? How do I know if I am unwell? How do I look after my physical health and what else do I need to look after? What are some personal hygiene routines to keep me healthy? What foods will help me be healthy and which foods should I eat everyday? What are some common safety needs? Who are the people that make me feel safe and happy? Why do we have safety rules? What are the consequences when this rule is not followed? Who is part of my community? How does the natural environment help me to stay healthy? What places are important to me and what is my connection to this place? How does my behaviour affect others? What are some of the skills I need to help me stay healthy?	How are my health needs the same and different to other people? What are the different dimensions of health? How do people find information about caring for their health and wellbeing? How does healthy eating maintain good health? What rules and resources promote personal safety? What are the basic skills and strategies available to avoid harmful situations? How do people make a positive contribution to the community? How can I care for the natural and built environments and how does this enhance my wellbeing? What are some of the consequences of my actions? What actions can I take to improve my health and wellbeing and that of others?	What factors influence health and what role do individuals play in maintaining health and wellbeing? In what ways do the five dimensions of health contribute to health and wellbeing and why is each dimension important? What are some different types of health information and services? How do particular foods influence growth and performance? What actions promote personal and group safety and how do people assess their options? How can personal actions contribute to community wellbeing? How can peoples’ actions affect the natural and built environments? What factors influence choices people make? What skills are required to develop health and wellbeing plans?	In what ways do individuals take personal responsibility for their health and wellbeing? How do people balance the dimensions of health to maintain their health and wellbeing? What causes health information and services to change? How can food products be assessed for nutritional value? What strategies minimise risk and how are they evaluated? How does the community support adolescent health and wellbeing? In what ways do the natural and built environments contribute to health and wellbeing? What are some short, medium and long term consequences of decisions? What is a good choice? How can a plan contribute to health and wellbeing? What makes a good health and wellbeing plan?	In what ways does and individuals health and wellbeing change throughout their lifetime? How do individuals balance and integrate the dimensions of health to maintain health and wellbeing? How do individuals assess and select health information and services? How do eating behaviours impact on community health and wellbeing? In what ways can risks promote personal and social growth? How can I contribute positively to individual and community health and wellbeing? What laws and policies impact on the health and wellbeing of young people? How can I advocate for natural and built environments? What are my priorities and how do I manage time effectively? What are the most effective strategies for a successful health and wellbeing plan?

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Strand	Standard 1	Standard 2	Standard 3	Standard 4	Standard 5
Strand 3: Skills for personal and social development	In what ways can I describe myself? What makes me feel happy? Which people are important to me? How am I connected to others socially and as part of a group? How does what I do affect me and others? How can I be a good friend? How can I help other people? Why should I share and take turns? Why is it important to keep trying? How do I tell others what I need? Who can help me?	What makes me unique? How do my thoughts and feelings affect me? What skills do I need to manage my thoughts and feelings? How do I show people that I care about them and their feelings? How do I show people that I am listening? What is fair? How do my rights and responsibilities contribute to my connections with other people? What are some of the qualities and behaviours that contribute to positive relationships? Who can I ask for help?	In what ways have I changed and how do I feel about myself? What strategies build self esteem? What is resilience? How does change influence attitudes, values and emotions? Who influences my values? What values do I share with others? What are some skills needed to build positive relationships? Why do people contribute to the community? How do people take on roles and responsibilities in groups? How do people make decisions? What are some different ways to assess consequences of decisions people make? What are some simple ways to overcome bullying and harassment? Who and what contributes to a support network	How do individuals cope with the social and emotional changes of adolescence? What are some different ways to promote resilience for individuals and groups? Have my values and beliefs change as I have grown older? How can people respect the values and beliefs of others and why? How are mutual respect and empathy demonstrated? What are healthy relationships and how are they maintained? What pressures may be placed on individuals through friends and family? What democratic processes are used in group decision making and how are these evaluated? How is conflict resolved in groups? What are the roles and responsibilities of health services for adolescents?	What is the connection between the dimensions of health and identity and self esteem? What factors contribute to my mental health? How do people manage stress? How can people build resilience in others? How do people treat others who have different values? How do people negotiate and modify their roles in different relationships? Why be ethical? How can people contribute to local and global communities? In what ways can the media influence identity and relationships and choices people make? What is the criteria used to select health services for adolescents?

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Definitions

Sustainability: a state or process that can be maintained indefinitely; understanding the interconnections between economy, society and environment

Sustainable development: the concept of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

Sustainable consumption: is an integral element of sustainable development; it is about finding workable solutions to social and environmental imbalances through more responsible behaviour from everyone

The four pillars of sustainability – sample key ideas

Environment
Economic
Governance
Social

Environment

Animal testing and cruelty
Climate change
Depletion of natural resources
Eco-design
Education
Energy consumption
Ethical development
Food production
Individual and community responsibility
Limits of nature
Mobility
Pollution
Preserving the environment
Protecting and building natural assets
Relationships between humans and other species
Role of the human race
Textile production
Use of natural resources
Waste reduction
Water consumption

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Economic

Build local assets
Build self-reliance
Consumerism
Debt
Developed vs. developing countries
Economic activity to serve the common good
Education
Equitable distribution of wealth
Ethical developments
Global economies
Impact of skill shortages
Need to be self-renewing
Patterns of consumption
Poverty
Technology

Governance

Equity
Ethical decision making
Democratic processes
Legislation
Policy making
Long term decision making

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Social

Access to food and nutrition
Access to health care
Activism
Advocacy
Being ethical
Build resilience to stress
Citizenship
Class, race, gender, age
Consumer scrutiny
Diversity of human cultures
Education
Empowerment
Equitable distribution of resources and opportunities
Forge connections beyond the local community
Foster commitment to place
Health is wealth
Leisure time
Lifestyle choices
Making a difference
Media literacy
Networking
Nurturing the human spirit
Opportunity for full participation
Peaceful relationships between people and nations
Personal expression
Popular culture
Promote vitality
Quality of life
Relationships
Rights and responsibilities
Right to vote
Shelter
Social marketing
Stewards of the future
Volunteerism

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