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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surfeit of information and misinformation in the media about it. The lockdown in England meant that schools were closed from March to June, meaning that students had limited access, in school, to ask questions and discuss the biology of the novel virus (SARS-CoV-2) or the impact of the pandemic on themselves, their families and friends. In this small-scale exploratory study, we decided to ask students (15–16-year-olds) on their return to school in June 2020 and in September 2020, what they wanted to know about COVID-19. Findings show that their questions were similar at both time points, indicating that students wanted to know the same things. This suggests that despite the high volume of information available in the media, some of the students’ questions had not been answered or that sources of information were confused and at times contradictory. Interestingly, the questions they asked were based on reliable sources of news rather than fake news, and this finding seems to contradict the literature that indicates young people are prone to believing misinformation. The implications for teaching and learning about COVID-19, and other zoonotic diseases as socio-scientific issues are discussed.

This qualitative study examines the pedagogical potential that a Cartography of Controversy (CoC) approach has in enabling secondary school students to unravel the complexity of socioscientific issues and to communicate about them. The aim was to examine the types of knowledge and the ways in which students approached uncertainty when asked to explore the badger-cattle controversy in England using the CoC approach. A learning sequence focusing on mapping controversies was designed and implemented across three lessons. Data collected from the students’ cartographies and the audio-recordings of their group discussions during the mapping tasks showed that students were able to use scientific, economic, cultural, social, moral and political types of knowledge in their exploration of the controversy. Identifying tensions between different types of knowledge and becoming aware of their own uncertainties about the issue through posing and recording questions allowed students to identify where uncertainty existed within the SSI explored. The CoC approach allowed affordances for understanding the SSI depending on students’ framing of the task (familiarisation, exploration, consolidation) and on the cartography’s function as an observation, visualisation, and reflection tool at different stages of the learning sequence. Implications for further research and practice for developing students’ socioscientific reasoning are discussed.

This paper describes the process of developing and delivering a new training programme to better equip university researchers to engage with and create interactive activities for schools. It has brought together people from within and beyond the university in many, often quite unexpected, ways. We discuss the points of learning for all involved, the strategic and logistical challenges faced, and offer some practical solutions to the challenges faced.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand early career teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a pre-service health education programme on their health promotion practice in schools and the contextual factors that influence this. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 primary and secondary trainee and qualified teachers who had trained at a university in England. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The teachers found the training to be a useful introduction, particularly when it was relevant to their practice. They valued gaining practical skills at university, on placement and in school once qualified. They reported that witnessing pupils’ lives in school had increased their awareness that health education is important. Their personal qualities, life experience, the school’s ethos and competing pressures influenced their practice. Teachers considered that building relationships with colleagues, pupils and parents facilitated health promotion, and that health education needs to be relevant to pupils. Some teachers expressed that teaching about health could be a “minefield”. They also discussed whether schools or parents are responsible for educating pupils about health issues and the place of health promotion within education’s wider purpose. Originality/value Few studies have followed-up trainee teachers once they are in teaching posts to explore the longer-term perceived impact of pre-service health education training. The findings suggest that teachers’ development takes place via an interaction between training and practice, suggesting that training could particularly aim to provide teachers with a contextualised understanding of health issues and practical experience.

The possible roles of culture, gender, and age-related factors as mediators of decision making about socioscientific issues (SSIs) have been underexplored, particularly the impact of distinct cultural groups’ perspectives. This comparative study explored culturally influenced decision-making using a mixed methods approach. To study the impact of culture and cross-cultural understanding on students’ decision-making, and how these impacts are possibly mediated by age and gender-related variables, 106 11-13 year old students and 60 15-17 year old students from three Hong Kong schools and four UK schools were engaged indecision-making about shark fishing, framed as an SSI. Data were collected on how students make decisions about the issue before and after interacting with their own peers and considering the views of their international counterparts, using discussion records, supplemented with focus group interviews. The findings show that students associated with the culture of shark eating do not necessarily identify with shark fishing. Three dimensions characterize students’ decisions: the human activities to be controlled, the ways to address issues arising from shark fishing, and the concerns underlying students’ decisions. Although students showed support for conserving sharks, there were nuanced differences between the two cultural groups in the three decision dimensions, which were possibly mediated by gender and age factors. The findings provide support to the impact of cultural exchange through cross-cultural presentations, post-activity discussion and reflections on their own and others’ views on broadening students’ perspectives and stimulating their critical reasoning. The study raises some important questions relating to group decision-making about shark conservation.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and why Saudi Arabian students engage in specific health risk behaviours (HRBs), and if there are gender differences. Design/methodology/approach In order to find out the situation regarding university students in Saudi Arabia, quantitative data were collected by administering questionnaires to 722 respondents, and qualitative data were collected using a series of interviews with 17 students. Findings The findings of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study suggest that lifestyle and personal factors, as well as economic, social, policy and other aspects of the environment played a significant role in influencing students’ HRBs. Recommendations for mitigating HRBs among these students and other youth in the Saudi Arabian context are provided. Originality/value This paper addresses an important gap in the research on HRBs among university students from the perspectives of students.

In this chapter, we discuss socioscientific issues-based education and the role that argumentation plays within this in the context of chemistry education with two particular aims in mind; the first is to discuss the importance of formulating and developing socioscientific reasoning, and the second is the consideration of the engagement of young people with active citizenship as part of science education in general and chemistry education in particular. We present a pedagogical approach, socioscientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL), which incorporates socioscientific reasoning and citizenship education within a wider framework of responsible research and innovation and discuss how the SSIBL framework and the concept of ‘Green and Sustainable Chemistry’ could be used to engage students in socioscientific argumentation within chemistry education.

Adolescence offers a window of opportunity during which improvements in health behaviours could benefit long-term health, and enable preparation for parenthood—albeit a long way off, passing on good health prospects to future children. This study was carried out to evaluate whether an educational intervention, which engages adolescents in science, can improve their health literacy and behaviours. A cluster-randomised controlled trial of 38 secondary schools in England, UK was conducted. The intervention (LifeLab) drew on principles of education, psychology and public health to engage students with science for health literacy, focused on the message “Me, my health and my children’s health”. The programme comprised: • Professional development for teachers. • A 2–3 week module of work for 13-14-year-olds. • A “hands-on” practical health science day visit to a dedicated facility in a university teaching hospital. Data were collected from 2929 adolescents (aged 13–14 years) at baseline and 2487 (84.9%) at 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome was change in theoretical health literacy from pre- to 12 months post- intervention. This study is registered (ISRCTN71951436) and the trial status is complete. Participation in the LifeLab educational intervention was associated with an increase in the students’ standardised total theoretical health literacy score (adjusted difference between groups = 0.27 SDs (95%CI = 0.12, 0.42)) at 12-month follow-up. There was an indication that intervention participants subsequently judged their own lifestyles more critically than controls, with fewer reporting their behaviours as healthy (53.4% vs. 59.5%; adjusted PRR = 0.94 [0.87, 1.01]). We conclude that experiencing LifeLab led to improved health literacy in adolescents and that they demonstrated a move towards a more critical judgement of health behaviour 12 months after the intervention. Further work is needed to examine whether this leads to sustained behaviour change, and whether other activities are needed to support this change.

Adolescence is a critical time point in the lifecourse. LifeLab is an educational intervention engaging adolescents in understanding Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) concepts and the impact of the early life environment on future health, benefitting both their long-term health and that of the next generation. We aimed to assess whether engaging adolescents with DOHaD concepts improves scientific literacy and whether engagement alone improves health behaviours.Six schools were randomized, three to intervention and three to control. Outcome measures were changed in knowledge, and intended and actual behaviour in relation to diet and lifestyle. A total of 333 students completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires. At 12 months, intervention students showed greater understanding of DOHaD concepts. No sustained changes in behaviours were identified.Adolescents’ engagement with DOHaD concepts can be improved and maintained over 12 months. Such engagement does not itself translate into behaviour change. The intervention has consequently been revised to include additional components beyond engagement alone.

Health and wellbeing is a broad and diverse topic but is particularly relevant to teachers of biology in primary and secondary schools across the world. Teachers need to be well-versed and trained in the many aspects that this topic covers, from the effects of communicable and non-communicable diseases and the need to understand and maintain a healthy lifestyle by having a balanced diet and taking regular exercise, to the effects of drugs and alcohol on physiological functioning. In this chapter, we explore how health and disease are defined, some barriers to teaching the subject in schools and some misconceptions held by students. We outline some examples of successful interventions that support students’ knowledge, attitudes and possibly even behaviours relating to health.

The research presented in this paper emerged from the need to identify the factors influencing academic staff members when engaging in Education for Sustainable Development in real practice. The aims of this study were to explore: (i) the factors influencing academic staff engagement in Education for Sustainable Development; and (ii) the views and vision of academic staff in relation to Education for Sustainable Development at the University of Southampton. This research was conceived as an exploratory action research study and consisted of two differentiated research stages. In Stage I fourteen academic staff members from different disciplines were interviewed as a reconnaissance phase of a typical action research cycle. In Stage II a facilitator role for curriculum development was adopted by one of the authors as part of her doctoral studies. An interdisciplinary group of five academic staff members from different subject areas was created with the aim to support the group's critical reflection and action. This research was undertaken between October 2011 and May 2013. This study suggests that although academics might have a personal interest and motivation to engage in Education for Sustainable Development, factors such as the lack of time and financial resources, lack of deep understanding of sustainability, current curriculum structures and ways of delivery, academic pressures, external factors, lack of organisational support and existing organisational conditions block their engagement in Education for Sustainable Development. Organisational support and leadership, quality assurance processes, professional development and creating reward structures are necessary strategies towards academic staff engagement in this agenda. This study provides evidence on different views and visions of academics in relation to Education for Sustainable Development and a number of contradictions between its principles and the role of Higher Education.

This paper focuses on the views of 16–17-year-old science students from England, Germany, Hong Kong and Sweden on whale hunting, and their perceptions of the views of their international counterparts. The students were all provided with the same decision-making task, discussed the issue in small groups and then presented their views on video, which were shared with their counterparts. The findings show that the decision-making task served to deepen and modify students’ views across all nationalities, and the students generally valued and learned from the sharing of views with students of the same age from around the world. However, an important discovery was that the German students’ opinions often ran counter to those from the other 3 locations, and the paper cautions against making broad-sweeping generalisations about students’ views on socioscientific issues.

This paper presents findings from a survey of pre-service teacher training institutions in England with regard to the provision of health and well-being education. It examines factors affecting the inclusion of health and well-being, and explores educational implications in light of the changing landscape of pre-service teacher education in England. Provision of health and well-being education is noticeably variable across institutions, and many course leaders are unclear about the coverage in their partner schools. Course leaders regard health and well-being as an important part of the curriculum, but the focus is usually on generic health-related themes such as child protection and behaviour management, which address Government priorities, rather than on specific topics such as education about diet, drugs, alcohol, smoking, sex and relationships and physical activity. The paper argues that these aspects should be addressed for pre-service teachers to have an increased sense of self-efficacy and become c...

Background Behavioural risk factors are the largest contributor to the non-communicable disease burden, and those of parents can affect prenatal and infant development with lasting impact on children’s long-term health. Adolescence offers a window of opportunity during which improvements in health behaviours would not only benefit long-term health of individuals, but also enable them to be better prepared for parenthood and pass better health prospects to their children. We have developed an educational intervention, LifeLab, based around a purpose-built laboratory in University Hospital Southampton with support from teachers, to engage adolescents in understanding effects of their health behaviours for themselves and their future children. Aims To assess whether engaging adolescents with the science behind health messages, thus improving their science literacy, increases their health literacy and hence their health behaviours. Methods In a pilot study, in preparation for a large cluster randomised trial of LifeLab, we recruited six schools. Three were randomised to the LifeLab intervention and three to control, with 392 students completing online questionnaires at baseline and 12 months follow up. Summary statistics were used to examine differences between groups. The categorical outcome variables were dichotomised and Poisson regression with robust variance used to obtain prevalence rate ratios (PRRs) for the outcome in relation to the intervention, adjusted for baseline values, sex and Index of Deprivation Affecting Children (IDACI) score. Results 12 months post intervention, intervention students had greater understanding than control students of the influences of health behaviours on their long term health and that of their children. Compared with control students those in the intervention were more likely to agree that nutrition starts to affect our future health early in life (PRR 1.87 (95%CI 1.42–2.45) and that the food a father eats before having a baby could affect the health of his children (PRR 4.05 (95%CI: 2.34–7.01)), but no more likely to agree that it was important to eat healthy food now (PRR 1.19 95% CI: 0.79–1.79)). The students in the intervention groups took similar amounts of exercise and their diets were comparable to those in the control group. Discussion It is possible to change students’ scientific awareness and health literacy as measured 12 months after the LifeLab intervention, but this does not necessarily translate into behaviour change. Interventions require more than knowledge acquisition in order to motivate and sustain behaviour change.

There are only a few studies about how primary school students engage in socio-scientific discussions. This study aims to add to this field of research by focusing on how 9–10-year-olds in Sweden and England handle climate change as a complex environmental socio-scientific issue (SSI), within the context of their own lives and in relation to society at large. It focuses on how different interpretative repertoires were used by the students in discussions to legitimise or question their everyday lifestyles. They discussed four possible options that a government might consider to help reduce carbon dioxide production. Six main repertoires were identified: Everyday life, Self-Interest, Environment, Science and Technology, Society and Justice. The Everyday life repertoire was used when students related their discussion to their everyday lifestyles. Science and technology-related solutions were offered to maintain or improve things, but these were sometimes rather unrealistic. Arguments related to environment and health frequently appeared to have a superior status compared to the others. Findings also highlighted how conflicts between the students were actually productive by bringing in several perspectives to negotiate the solutions. These primary school students were, therefore, able to discuss and negotiate a complex real-world SSI. Students positioned themselves as active contributors to society, using their life experiences and limited knowledge to understand the problems that affected their everyday lives. Honing these skills within a school science community of practice could facilitate primary students’ engagement with SSIs and empower them as citizens.

We are delighted that this issue of JBE includes three papers from the most recent conference of the European Researchers in Didactics of Biology (ERIDOB), held at Karlstad University, Sweden. Ther ...

Teachers are a key part of the wider public health workforce in England. We conducted a survey to find out how they are trained for this role during their initial teacher education (ITE).Between 2011 and 2012, we sent an online questionnaire to 220 ITE course managers and conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 19 course managers to explore issues in more depth.The response rate to the questionnaire was 34% (n = 74). Although most of the course managers felt inclusion of health and well-being training in ITE was important, provision across courses was variable. Topics which are public health priorities [e.g. sex and relationships education (SRE) and drugs, alcohol and tobacco] were covered by fewer courses than other topics (e.g. child protection, emotional health and anti-bullying). Perceived barriers to training included lack of time and a belief that health and well-being were low priorities in educational policy.Not all of tomorrow's teachers are being adequately prepared for their role in helping to address public health priorities. Educational policy does not appear to be supporting the priorities of public health policy, and this is a key barrier to health promotion training in ITE. Keywords children, educational settings, health promotion.

Background Schools are an important setting for health promotion and teachers have an integral role to play in promoting children and young people’s health and well-being. Adequate initial teacher training (ITT) and continuing professional development in health is therefore important. Objectives To conduct a survey of initial teacher training providers in England and a systematic review of effectiveness to assess how health and well-being is covered on courses, and to identify barriers and facilitators to effective training. Methods Methods included an online questionnaire survey with a sample of 220 ITT course managers in England; interviews with a purposive sample of 19 of the course managers responding to the questionnaire; and a two-stage systematic review comprising a descriptive map of the characteristics of international research studies of health teacher training and a detailed synthesis of a subset of studies specifically on pre-service training. Databases (including MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Campbell Library and PsycINFO) were searched from the period of database inception up to May 2011. Results The overall response rate for the survey was 34%. The majority (89%) of respondents agreed that it was either important or very important to cover health within the ITT curriculum. The most commonly covered topics on courses were Every Child Matters (100%), child protection (100%), emotional health (99%) and antibullying (97%). Fewer course managers reported covering healthy eating (63%), sex and relationships (62%), drugs (56%), alcohol (41%) and smoking (34%). Many interviewees expressed a holistic view of education and believed that health was important in the ITT curriculum. However, there was variability in how health was addressed across and within institutions. Trainee teachers' experience of addressing child health on school placement was also variable. Facilitators to covering health included interests and backgrounds of ITT staff; staff health-related professional experience; availability of health expertise from external agencies; supportive government policy frameworks; and interprofessional and interdepartmental working. The main barriers were limited curriculum time; health being perceived to be a lower priority than other aspects of training; health no longer a high government priority in education; and lack of funding. A total of 170 studies met the eligibility criteria for the descriptive map. The majority covered teacher training in relation to sexual and reproductive health, drugs and alcohol or mental and emotional health. A total of 21 publications (20 studies) were prioritised for the synthesis. All were evaluations of health training for pre-service teachers, and just under half were from the UK. Twelve studies reported outcomes (impact of training on teachers, but not pupils), many of which were single cohort before-and-after studies. Sixteen studies reported processes. Following training there were some increases in trainee teachers' factual knowledge of health and a general increase in their confidence to address health issues. In general, training was acceptable and well received by trainees. Evidence suggested that effective training should include practical experience and skills and be personally relevant and take into account individual needs. Barriers to health training identified from the studies included lack of time, balancing breadth and depth, and variation in training provision. Conclusions Among those surveyed there appears to be general support for health and well-being in ITT. However, further research on the longer-term impact of ITT around health and well-being is needed, particularly in the early career period. The main limitation of this research was the low response rate (34%) to the survey. Study registration PROSPERO number CRD42012001977. Funding The National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic review of effectiveness, and barriers and facilitators, of initial teacher training to promote health and well-being in schools. Design: Systematic review of the literature. Method: A total of 20 bibliographic databases were searched, including MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Social Science Citation Index. Studies were included if they reported research into the processes and/or outcomes of initial (pre-service) teacher training to promote health. Results: A total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria, mainly from the UK and Australia. Twelve studies assessed outcomes, commonly using uncontrolled before and after assessment designs. Sixteen studies evaluated the processes of training. Training was diverse in terms of content, format and health topics. The studies demonstrated short-term increases in trainee teachers’ factual knowledge of health issues, a general increase in teachers’ confidence to teach about health and to identify and help children with specific health issues. There was an increase in teachers’ positive beliefs about their role in promoting children’s health. None of the studies assessed changes in pupil outcomes. The training was generally considered acceptable and adequate by trainee teachers. However, some of the trainees felt that they still lacked knowledge and confidence to address sensitive health issues on entering teaching practice. Conclusion: This systematic review identified some evidence for the effectiveness of teacher training for health and highlighted factors which facilitate and inhibit effective training. Further evaluation, using controlled trial designs with long-term follow-up of teacher and pupil outcomes, may enable teachers to effectively address the health and education needs of school pupils.

Students have been reported to have stereotypical views of scientists as middle-aged white men in lab coats. We argue that a way to provide students with a more realistic view of scientists and their work is to provide them with the opportunity to interact with scientists during short, discussion-based sessions. For that reason, 20 scientists from 8 professional areas were asked to share their experiences of becoming and being a scientist, in short sessions with groups of 7–8 students. The student sample consisted of 223 students between 13 and 15 years. Student and scientist questionnaires were used before and after the sessions to assess students’ views of scientists and their work, and scientists’ experiences of interacting with students. The pre-session questionnaires revealed that students considered scientists as ‘boring’ and ‘nerdy’ whereas after the sessions students focused extensively on how ‘normal’ the scientists appeared to be. The face-to-face interactions with scientists allowed students to view scientists as approachable and normal people, and to begin to understand the range of scientific areas and careers that exist. Scientists viewed the scientist–student interactions as a vehicle for science communication. Implications discussed include the need for future training courses to focus on developing science communicators’ questioning and interaction skills for effective interactions with students.

Teachers play a key role in promoting children and young people’s health and therefore require health training during their initial teacher education (ITE). However, little is known about the impact of such training on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and competence toward promoting health in school, especially long term. We report on Phase 1 of an 18-month project examining the long-term impact of an innovative health education program, based on socio-constructivist learning and critical reflection, during preservice teacher training at one ITE university in England. It also explored barriers and facilitators to promoting health in school. We sent a questionnaire to 1,014 primary and secondary school teachers from three consecutive cohorts: preservice teachers ( N = 334), newly qualified teachers ( N = 334), and early careers teachers ( N = 346). Of these, 164 (16%) responded (32% of preservice teachers, 8% of in-service teachers). This low response rate presents limitations but is in accordance with other research following up early career teachers. The majority of the respondents found the training useful, felt confident and knowledgeable teaching and dealing with health issues, and held positive attitudes about promoting health. They indicated that practical experience, supportive colleagues, and a positive school ethos toward children’s health and well-being were important facilitators to teaching health education. We conclude the training is associated with a positive, long-term effect in the minority who responded, and we argue that the socio-constructivist nature of the health education training is a contributor. However, school environment factors might mitigate or support the impact of training provided during ITE.

Students have been reported to have stereotypical views of scientists as middle-aged white men in lab coats. We argue that a way to provide students with a more realistic view of scientists and their work is to provide them with the opportunity to interact with scientists during short, discussion-based sessions. For that reason, 20 scientists from 8 professional areas were asked to share their experiences of becoming and being a scientist, in short sessions with groups of 7–8 students. The student sample consisted of 223 students between 13 and 15 years. Student and scientist questionnaires were used before and after the sessions to assess students’ views of scientists and their work, and scientists’ experiences of interacting with students. The pre-session questionnaires revealed that students considered scientists as ‘boring’ and ‘nerdy’ whereas after the sessions students focused extensively on how ‘normal’ the scientists appeared to be. The face-to-face interactions with scientists allowed students to view scientists as approachable and normal people, and to begin to understand the range of scientific areas and careers that exist. Scientists viewed the scientist–student interactions as a vehicle for science communication. Implications discussed include the need for future training courses to focus on developing science communicators’ questioning and interaction skills for effective interactions with students.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of a city‐wide survey of teenagers’ views on their health, and compare this with the outcomes of a science‐oriented health intervention called LifeLab, a hospital‐based classroom aimed at developing teenagers’ attitudes towards their health and that of their future children.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey of 597 14‐year olds across the city of Southampton was conducted to gauge their views and behaviour in relation to their own health. The views of 37 students who took part in innovative, hospital‐based, hands‐on LifeLab activities were compared with those of their peers six months after the intervention to analyse long‐term impacts of the experience. Interviews were carried out with ten LifeLab students to gain further insights.FindingsThe intervention created a wider appreciation among students that food they eat now could affect their long‐term health and the health of their future children. Students became significantly more interested in studying science beyond compulsory schooling, and in considering science and healthcare career options.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough results were statistically significant, the intervention sample was quite small, and further data collection is ongoing. The city‐wide student response rate of 29 per cent was fairly low.Social implicationsThis study has shown that a carefully structured hospital‐based classroom visit, and associated science lessons can have a marked effect on student engagement with health‐related issues, and an impact on their consideration of their career choices.Originality/valueThe hospital‐based classroom is an innovative approach to improving teenagers’ knowledge and attitudes towards their health. The paper's findings should be of interest to a range of educational stakeholders including teachers, local education authorities and local politicians concerned with health education matters.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss a curriculum change in the provision of health promotion in pre‐service teacher education in a one‐year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) secondary course in one Higher Education Institution (HEI) in England.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the iterative development process, from an initial survey and mapping of the existing pre‐service teacher training programme, which provided an evidence base for the piloting of a new health promotion component in the curriculum, and its subsequent evaluation. Changes to the health promotion element of the curriculum reflect the programme philosophy which balances the requirements of a competency based curriculum with a more liberal approach to education and training in which pre‐service teachers are expected to critically reflect on, and evaluate their practice. This work adopts a socio‐constructivist approach to teacher education, in which teachers develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes by interacting with others through dialogue, and learning from more knowledgeable others in a cooperative and scaffolded manner.FindingsThe paper presents the results of these changes and discusses implications for their sustainability. The changes made to the health promotion component of the programme and their implementation would not have been possible without the inter‐professional collaboration that took place over three years.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge similar work involving a multi‐disciplinary collaborative approach to the development of a health education component of a pre‐service teacher education curriculum has not been employed or reported.

It has been argued that decision making about socioscientific issue (SSIs)necessitates informal reasoning, which involves multiperspective thinking and moral judgment. This study extends the scope of the literature concerning students’ reasoning on SSIs to a cross-contextual study by comparing decisions made on avian flu by 12–13-year-old Chinese students in two different contextual settings using a prescribed decision-making framework. The findings reveal differences between students in the two settings with respect to their reasoning perspectives, evidence perceived to be useful to gather, decision making criteria, and postactivity decisions.When coupled with cross-contextual exchange,the prescribed decision-making framework was found to have an impact on both multiperspective reasoning and metacognitive reflection on the multifaceted nature of decision making.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of an education and public health collaboration investigating the impact of adapted training to enhance teachers' potential role to promote child health and wellbeing.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted in three phases: a survey of the health education content in universities in initial teacher training courses; a longitudinal survey at the commencement and completion of courses to capture trainees' knowledge, skills and attitudes towards health and their role in health promotion; and mapping curriculum content against qualified teacher standards and public health competencies.FindingsTraining about health varies largely between institutions. Trainees' knowledge levels remained low after training; ranked importance of key health topics – nutrition, alcohol, smoking, – decreased significantly; a majority thought that teachers and schools play an important role in health promotion, but significant increases were also noted in the minority who thought health promotion is not part of their remit (Phase 2).Originality/valueTo the best of one's knowledge, similar work has not so far been reported. While teachers are in a prime position to influence child health, trainees require knowledge and skills to realise their public health potential.

Education for scientific literacy entails the development of scientific knowledge and the ability to apply this knowledge and value judgments to decisions about real-life issues. This paper reports an attempt to involve secondary level biology students in making decisions about an authentic socio-scientific issue - that of bat conservation - through a classroom activity. A decision making framework adapted from the literature was designed to help students to tackle the issue from multiple perspectives with due consideration given to relevant scientific knowledge, rational argumentation, and the values underlying the possible options. An evaluation of the results showed that there were considerable changes in the students’ decisions before and after the activity, thus reflecting a change in values from an anthropocentric viewpoint to an eclectic perspective that emphasizes both utilitarian and biocentric values.

Different views exist about whether anthropomorphic ideas assist or hinder learning in biology. This paper discusses the anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas children have about micro-organisms, and whether they affect their understanding. The research was carried out in primary and secondary schools in the South of England and involved 414 children aged 7,11 and 14 years. Three different research techniques were used to elicit their ideas. Anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas about micro-organisms are apparent in responses from all age groups. Anthropomorphic ideas seem to help children to explain their understanding of some aspects of micro-organisms but the imbalance in children's anthropocentric views of micro-organisms appears to prohibit them considering other aspects of micro-organisms; for example, the importance of their role in decomposition and cycling of matter, or their beneficial technological applications. The focus on the danger micro-organisms are thought to pose to human health...

The conservation of biodiversity is an important socio-scientific issue, often regarded as a precondition to sustainable development, and the foundation for citizens’ understanding of conservation issues can be laid down in formal school education.This research focuses on decision-making discussions about biological conservation issues among 131 15-16 year old students, to address two main research questions: 1. Can peer-group decision-making discussions, in a normal science lesson setting, help develop students’ personal reasoning in relation to conservation issues? 2. Are there features common to high-quality discussions about conservation which might be readily identified by classroom teachers?Findings indicate the positive value of students taking part in these short decision-making discussions, guided by a structured framework, as part of their normal science classroom activities. Students increase their quality of personal reasoning, and modify their solutions to the issues. The study begins to uncover features about students, as individuals and as members of discussion groups, which can be associated with high quality decision-making about conservation issues, and which teachers might realistically identify. The work calls for the need to cultivate these features, and integrate them appropriately with learning about the scientific concepts that underpin the theory and practice of conservation management. Such integration will facilitate the development of teaching strategies for dealing effectively with the complex topic of biological conservation; not just in terms of science content, but also in terms of how students are expected to engage with the issues.

Background Teachers have an important role as health promoters; therefore they require adequate training to meet this responsibility. However, little is known about how pre-service health education training affects teachers' knowledge and attitudes towards promoting health in school once they are qualified. Our research assessed recently qualified teachers' attitudes towards, experiences of, and perceived confidence and skills for health promotion, up to 3 years after an innovative health curriculum developed at the University of Southampton for pre-service teachers. Methods We sent an online and postal 15 min questionnaire to all contactable teachers (n=976) who had qualified at Southampton Education School between 2012 and 2014. It assessed their self-reported attitudes towards promoting health, experiences of and perceived competence and confidence to promote health, and perceptions of their school's health promotion culture and environment. The curriculum consisted of a Health Day with workshops and subsequent school-based tasks, delivered via a multiagency approach. Results are reported as the percentage of all people who responded to a particular question. Findings The response rate was 11% (n=104). Positive attitudes towards promoting health were reported by 88 (96·7%) of 91 teachers. 50 (74·6%) of 67 teachers felt that the training had positively influenced their health education teaching. Between 57·3% (55/96) and 87·5% (84/96) felt confident and skilled in teaching ten health-related topics (median 71·9%). The teachers most frequently reported that their life experience (87/95, 91·6%), practical teaching experience (75/94, 79·8%), and support received in school since qualifying (65/93, 69·9%) had been influential in their gaining competence. However, 80 (81·6%) of 98 teachers agreed with the statement that "academic attainment is prioritised over other elements of pupils' education" in their school. Interpretation The low response rate creates possible participation bias and generalisability issues. However, the high proportions of these teachers reporting positive attitudes towards and feeling confident and competent in promoting health suggest a possible longer term positive effect of the training. The findings indicate that teachers value support from colleagues, and practical and life experience for developing competence, but feel that health education is not always prioritised. The Southampton training model could be used by other initial teacher education institutions. Our findings do not indicate, however, how such training could ultimately affect pupils' health and education outcomes. Funding The Leverhulme Trust.

This article presents an independent evaluation of the Action Research for Physics (ARP) programme, a nationwide professional development programme which trains teachers to use action research to increase student interest in physicsand encourage them to take post-compulsory physics. The impact of the programme was explored from the perspective of the teacher participants, the programme tutors and the teachers’ senior managers who authorise attendance on professional development training courses. Although teachers and senior managers viewed ARP as an unmitigated success in improving classroom practice, the evaluation raises some other important implications for teaching physics and the professional development of physics teachers. Relatively few teachers have experience of action research, and there is a need for further training in thisarea. The study also highlights the key role of senior managers in giving physics teachers access to appropriate professional development and opportunities to carry out suitable activities in the classroom.

Background: Musculoskeletal (MSK) disease is the major cause of years lived with disability in the UK. The UK is behind other comparable countries in confronting consequences of long-term diseases. One potentially effective approach is by educating people to become more health literate. Early life interventions relating to exercise and good MSK health practices may be an effective addition to traditional approaches. LifeLab is a science-based approach to improving teenagers’ health-related attitudes and behaviour. The LifeLab approach was developed at the University of Southampton and combines educationalists, scientists, clinical researchers and school children and has been effective in improving young peoples’ understanding of the nature of diseases and reasoning about health issues. However, no specific MSK health education components have previously been included in LifeLab. Methods: In 2014 the first MSK LifeLab workshop was designed with educationalists and researchers in biomechanics, occupational therapy, podiatry, and physiotherapy from the MSK Research Cluster at Southampton for year 8 (age 12-13) school students. The workshops aimed to promote young peoples’ health literacy in musculoskeletal health and integrated experiential learning using 3D motion analysis, real-time ultrasound scanning of muscles contracting; radiographs of normal and osteoarthritis foot joints; anatomy models and hand and hip joint implants. The workshops covered a) the impact of osteoarthritis joint disease on daily life b) capturing and illustrating joint movement using state of the art 3D motion analysis technology and c) an in-depth look at muscles using ultrasound imaging. Learning objectives included students being able to: 1. Identify key components of active healthy living for bones, muscles and joints 2. Observe patterns in how healthy joints can move and contrast patterns with injured joint movement 3. Discover what role muscles play in healthy joints 4. Compare healthy joint structures with arthritic joint structures Results: 58 students from 3 state secondary schools, attended a university widening participation outreach day within which the MSK LifeLab workshop was run. On the same day the students also attended workshops in Humanities and Oceanography. When asked which workshop of the outreach day was their favourite 43 % of the students identified the MSK workshops. Feedback on why the workshops were enjoyable included; “I enjoyed biomechanics because I like looking at how things work and move”; “Ostioarphritus. I'm into sports & find the body interesting”; “The bones because you got to find out about the body”. The interactive nature of the workshop with teenagers having hands on learning was also well received “My favourite was bones because they made it fun”; “The bones experiments because the technology involved was awesome.” Conclusions: Using interactive MSK workshops as part of LifeLab presents an exciting health literacy approach to encourage young people to start to engage in understanding their MSK health. Acknowledgements: These are not included in the abstract but will appear if we get a paper accepted. LifeLab, has been developed as a joint initiative, involving, in addition to the University of Southampton and the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust; the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, the University of Southampton (UoS) Faculty of Medicine and Southampton Education School, the Mathematics and Science Learning Centre (MSLC), the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and the Garfield Weston Foundation. KWT is supported by the National Institute for Health Research through the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre Some facilities and personnel in the MSK Research Cluster are funded by Arthritis Research UK.

Background Lifestyle and health behaviours are strongly linked to non-communicable disease risk, but modifying them is challenging. There is an increasing recognition that adolescence is an important time for lifestyle and health behaviours to become embedded. Improving these behaviours in adolescents is important not only for their own health but also for that of their future children. LifeLab Southampton has been developed as a purpose-built classroom and laboratory in University Hospital Southampton. Secondary school students visit LifeLab to learn how childhood, adolescent and parental nutrition influences health, understand the impact of their lifestyle on their cardiovascular and metabolic health, and to inspire them with the excitement of research and future career possibilities in science. The LifeLab visit is part of a programme of work linked to the English National Curriculum. Pilot work has indicated that attitudes towards health can be changed by such LifeLab sessions. Methods/Design A cluster randomised controlled trial is being conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the LifeLab intervention, the primary outcome being a measurement of the change in nutrition, health and lifestyle literacy from before to after the LifeLab intervention. The LifeLab intervention comprises professional development for the teachers involved; preparatory lessons for the school students, delivered in school; a hands-on practical day at LifeLab, including a ‘Meet the Scientist’ session; post-visit lessons delivered in school; and the opportunity to participate in the annual LifeLab Schools’ Conference. This study aims to recruit approximately 2,500 secondary school students aged 13 to 14 years from 32 schools (the clusters) from Southampton and neighbouring areas. Participating schools will be randomised to control or intervention groups. The intervention will be run over two academic school years, with baseline questionnaire data collected from students at participating schools at the start of the academic year and follow- up questionnaire data collected approximately 12 months later. Trial registration Evaluation of LifeLab is a cluster randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN71951436, registered 25 March 2015), funded by the British Heart Foundation (PG/14/33/30827). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-015-0890-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.