Effectiveness of body image education curriculum in primary schools among grade 4-6 students / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To analyze the effectiveness of body image education curriculum on grade 4-6 students of early adolescence in primary schools, so as to provide teaching pructice research eridence for promoting positive body image during adolescence.@*Methods@#A primary school in Chengdu was selected as an experimental school, who offered 6 projects, each project 1 class hour, each chass hour 40 minutes, an average of 1.5 weeks body image education curriculum (body changes during adolescent, values, physical appearance, gender diverity expression and aesthetic diversity). The other school had the same school district conditions, school size and nature, teachers and teaching environment, and had no body image education courses. A pre-test and post-test survey was conducted in April and May 2023 on students in grades 4 to 6 in both schools through the Body Image State Scale adopting cluster sampling.@*Results@#The pre-test scores of body image in experimental school and control school were (34.99±8.72) and (35.74±8.57) respectively, with no significantly statistical difference ( t=-1.29, P >0.05). The post-test scores of body image in experimental school and control school were (37.09±10.40) and (35.70±8.78) respectivily. There was a significant difference in body image between pre-test and post-test scores in experimental school ( t=-5.70, P <0.01), while no significant difference in control school ( t=0.13, P >0.05). There were significant differences in body image between pre-test and post-test scores among students of different BMI groups in experimental and control schools ( F =16.01, 7.19, 9.64, 5.30, P <0.01).@*Conclusions@#Body image education curriculum in early adolescence is beneficial for improving students body satisfaction. To help students develop a positive body image in early adolescence, it is necessary to implement relevant curriculum education in schools as early as possible.