ERIC Number: ED417191
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1996-Aug
Pages: 19
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Participatory Appropriation of Health Science by Primary School Students in Rural Zambia.
Mwape, Gertrude; Serpell, Robert
The Child-to-Child (CtC) project involved school-age African children in monitoring younger children's weight and health (since much of the daily infant care in Africa is performed by preadolescents). CtC emphasizes local autonomy and is based on respect for children as morally responsible community members with a basic right to health and education. A case study examined activities of primary school teachers who applied CtC concepts in the Mpika district of Zambia. Third and sixth graders learned about basic health care and the use of growth charts to monitor health during mathematics class. After discussing diarrheal diseases and oral rehydration therapy, the paper describes an investigation of teaching-learning processes in schools using CtC. The study observed students in seven schools as they learned about and worked with growth charts. Interviews and written records indicated the children had a good understanding of the subject. Using a behavioral assessment instrument, students' ability to act appropriately in emergencies (bleeding or severe diarrhea) were examined. Interviews with parents investigated what they knew about CtC and how they felt about home-school relationships. Results revealed that most were strong supporters of home-school links and considered nurturance a very important theme inherent in CtC. CtC activities helped empower low-income, rural African children to participate meaningfully in the health care of younger children. (Contains 53 references.) (SM)
Descriptors: Child Health, Elementary Education, Elementary School Mathematics, Elementary School Students, Family School Relationship, Foreign Countries, Grade 3, Grade 6, Health Promotion, Infant Care, Low Income Groups, Mathematics Instruction, Nutrition, Parent Attitudes, Rural Population, Rural Schools, Student Participation, Student Responsibility, Young Children
Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (Quebec City, Quebec, August 1996).
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Zambia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A