Distilling the curriculum: An analysis of alcohol industry-funded school-based youth education programmes

Background and aim For decades, corporations such as the tobacco and fossil fuel industries have used youth education programmes and schools to disseminate discourses, ideas and values favourable to their positions, and to pre-empt regulation that threatens profits. However, there is no systematic research into alcohol industry-funded youth education programmes. This article serves to address this important gap in the literature. Methods Using a discourse theoretical approach informed by poststructural discourse theory and critical discourse analysis, we analysed teaching materials from three school-based youth education initiatives which focus on alcohol consumption and health harms: Drinkaware for Education, The Smashed Project (funded by Diageo), and Talk About Alcohol (Alcohol Education Trust). These materials, some of which are disseminated internationally, are provided to schools through intermediary bodies in receipt of alcohol industry funding. Findings The analysis found that these materials drew from and presented discourses of personal responsibility, moderate alcohol consumption, and involved a narrowing of the problem definition and causes. The locus of the problem is located by the discourses within individuals including youth, with causes of youth alcohol consumption repeatedly presented as peer pressure and ‘poor choices’, with little or no mention of alcohol industry marketing or other practices. All programmes promoted familiarisation and normalisation of alcohol as a ‘normal’ adult consumer product which children must learn about and master how to use responsibly when older. The discourses constructed in these materials closely align with those of other alcohol industry corporate social responsibility discourses which employ selective presentation of harms, including misinformation about cancer, and ambiguous terms such as “responsible drinking”. Furthermore, the role of alcohol price, availability and access, and the impacts of alcohol and the industry on inequities were not articulated within the discourses. The research was limited to an analysis of teaching materials and further research is needed to explore their impact on youth, teachers and wider discourses and social norms. Conclusion Alcohol industry-sponsored youth education programmes serve industry interests and promote moderate consumption while purportedly educating children about harms and influences of alcohol use. There are considerable conflicts of interest in the delivery of alcohol education programmes funded by the alcohol industry and intermediary bodies in receipt of such funding. Alcohol education materials should be developed independent from industry, including funding, and should empower children and young people to understand and think critically about alcohol, including harms and drivers of consumption, and effective interventions needed to protect them and others from alcohol-related harms. Independent organisations can use this analysis to critique their materials to strengthen alignment with meeting student and public health interests. The ongoing exposure of children and young people to such conflicted and misleading materials needs urgent attention from policymakers, practitioners, teachers and parents, and resources dependent on industry support should cease being used in schools.

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What Motivates Young People to Attend Music Festivals and What Role Do Peer Pressure and Alcohol Consumption Play in Attendance?

Journal of Hospitality Application and Research ◽

10.21863/johar/2015.10.1.003 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kerryn Gill ◽

Claudia Ollenburg ◽

Robert Nash

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Young People ◽

Peer Pressure ◽

Music Festivals

Australia is host to over 350 music festivals every year however, it has become apparent that very little work has been done to determine why young people choose to consume large amounts of alcohol at these events and in turn, what role peer pressure plays in their decisions. This study adds to research, investigating the motivations of those who attend music festivals, as well as exploring how peer pressure impacts young peoples choice to attend and consume alcohol. Data was collected from students attending four Queensland Universities and identifies the importance of alcohol consumption to attendees. This study both substantiates previous research, as well as support academic theories.

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School-based integrated healthcare model: how Our Mia Mia is improving health and education outcomes for children and young people

Australian Journal of Primary Health ◽

10.1071/py20177 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Antonio Mendoza Diaz ◽

Andrew Leslie ◽

Charlotte Burman ◽

James Best ◽

Kristie Goldthorp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Integrated Healthcare ◽

Children And Young People ◽

Education Outcomes ◽

School Based ◽

Healthcare Model ◽

Outcomes For Children

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Some thoughts on curriculum in music education

British Journal of Music Education ◽

10.1017/s0265051719000044 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

MARTIN FAUTLEY ◽

ALISON DAUBNEY

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Music Education ◽

Search Engine ◽

Music Curriculum ◽

Educational Settings ◽

Children And Young People ◽

Selective Sampling ◽

School Based ◽

School Music ◽

Good Learning

Curriculum is currently a big issue in England. What a school-based music curriculum should entail, what sorts of things should be taught and learned, and what makes for good learning experiences are all under consideration. One of the issues that crops up in England, and possibly in other jurisdictions too, when these sorts of discussions take place, involves considerations of what sorts of music children and young people should be involved with, what should they learn, and what is important for schools to be teaching. This immediately places discussions beyond what might be termed the strictly musical, and into the area of values. What music is valued by education systems, and what music should be foregrounded in educational settings become a significant arena of contention. This is especially the case when politicians become involved, as they will often have fixed or politically-motivated views about what they think should be taught and learned in school music classes. As ever, the pages of the BJME provide some interesting views on this matter, and so it is worth a brief trawl through the archives. The BJME home page search engine on the website produces 168 results for the term “curriculum”, so clearly this will be a highly selective sampling from these rich pickings in this editorial.

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AlcoLOLs, re-thinking drinking: Developing a shared leadership approach for alcohol education

Health Education Journal ◽

10.1177/0017896919883364 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 79 (3) ◽

pp. 346-361

Author(s):

Magda Pieczka ◽

Isidoropaolo Casteltrione

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Young People ◽

Shared Leadership ◽

Peer Education ◽

Peer Leaders ◽

Peer Leadership ◽

Alcohol Education ◽

Self Identity ◽

Whole School ◽

Group Interviews

Objective: The aim of this article is to extend and elaborate ways of conceptualising, enabling and practising peer leadership in whole-school alcohol education programmes. Design: Qualitative study involving individual and group interviews. Setting: The AlcoLOLs project took place in six secondary schools in North East Edinburgh (Scotland) from 2013 to 2015. Methods: A total of 21 individual and 4 group interviews with young people aged 14–18 who acted as peer leaders in the AlcoLOLs project. Interviews were conducted throughout the duration of the project as a means of hearing peer leaders’ individual voices, monitoring progress and evaluating the intervention. Data were analysed using the principles of thematic analysis. Results: The intervention demonstrates transformative multilevel learning (i.e. cognition, civic/communal attitudes, self-identity, self-efficacy, specific communication/team skills) for peer leaders resulting from the shared leadership process. Results indicate that there is an element of continuity between antecedents, process and outcomes of shared leadership which, in the context of peer education, needs to be seen as an iterative rather than a linear process. Drawing on these findings, a model for a whole-school alcohol peer education intervention is developed. The model is underpinned by critical dialogic principles and reframes alcohol consumption as action rather than behaviour. Conclusion: This article redefines peer leadership in alcohol education interventions for young people as a process involving formal, informal, individual and shared leadership. Combined with a whole-school dialogic intervention, this approach can lead to the development of alcohol consumption/abstinence as a practice that focuses on the articulation of a self-identity drawing on both individual/personal and civic aspects.

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Preventing domestic abuse for children and young people: A review of school-based interventions

Children and Youth Services Review ◽

10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.10.018 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 59 ◽

pp. 120-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Nicky Stanley ◽

Jane Ellis ◽

Nicola Farrelly ◽

Sandra Hollinghurst ◽

Soo Downe

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Domestic Abuse ◽

Children And Young People ◽

School Based ◽

School Based Interventions

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Primary care management of group A streptococcal pharyngitis in Northland

Journal of Primary Health Care ◽

10.1071/hc14189 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 189 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Anil Shetty ◽

Clair Mills ◽

Kyle Eggleton

Keyword(s):

General Practice ◽

Young People ◽

Rheumatic Fever ◽

Sore Throat ◽

Health Board ◽

Prescription Data ◽

National Guidelines ◽

Children And Young People ◽

School Based ◽

Group A

INTRODUCTION: Reducing the rate of acute rheumatic fever nationally by two-thirds by 2017 is a New Zealand Ministry of Health priority. Northland District Health Board (DHB) has high rates of rheumatic fever, disproportionately impacting on Maori children and young people. School-based programmes and general practice both contribute to rheumatic fever prevention in detecting and appropriately treating group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess adherence by general practitioners and school-based sore throat programmes to national guidelines for the management of GAS pharyngitis in Northland. METHODS: Laboratory and pharmaceutical data were obtained for children and young people aged 320 years who had GAS positive throat swabs in Northland laboratory services between 1 April and 31 July 2012. Data were analysed separately for general practice and the school programmes for rheumatic fever prevention. RESULTS: One in five of those children presenting to general practice with a positive throat swab and complete prescription data did not receive treatment according to national guidelines, while appropriate treatment was offered to more than 98% of children accessing school-based programmes. A significant proportion of those seen in general practice received antibiotics not recommended by guidelines, an inadequate length of treatment or no prescription. There were no significant differences in the management of Maori and non-Maori children. DISCUSSION: There is room for improvement in general practice management of GAS pharyngitis in Northland. School-based management of sore throat provides high-quality management for children at high risk of rheumatic fever. KEYWORDS: Pharyngitis; prevention and control; primary health care; rheumatic fever; school health services; Streptococcus pyogenes

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A systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of school-based identification of children and young people at risk of, or currently experiencing mental health difficulties

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291718002490 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 9-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Joanna K. Anderson ◽

Tamsin Ford ◽

Emma Soneson ◽

Jo Thompson Coon ◽

Ayla Humphrey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Young People ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Bibliographic Databases ◽

Children And Young People ◽

Presenting Symptoms ◽

School Based ◽

Mental Health Difficulties

AbstractBackgroundAlthough school-based programmes for the identification of children and young people (CYP) with mental health difficulties (MHD) have the potential to improve short- and long-term outcomes across a range of mental disorders, the evidence-base on the effectiveness of these programmes is underdeveloped. In this systematic review, we sought to identify and synthesise evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of school-based methods to identify students experiencing MHD, as measured by accurate identification, referral rates, and service uptake.MethodElectronic bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, British Education Index and ASSIA were searched. Comparative studies were included if they assessed the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of strategies to identify students in formal education aged 3–18 years with MHD, presenting symptoms of mental ill health, or exposed to psychosocial risks that increase the likelihood of developing a MHD.ResultsWe identified 27 studies describing 44 unique identification programmes. Only one study was a randomised controlled trial. Most studies evaluated the utility of universal screening programmes; where comparison of identification rates was made, the comparator test varied across studies. The heterogeneity of studies, the absence of randomised studies and poor outcome reporting make for a weak evidence-base that only generate tentative conclusions about the effectiveness of school-based identification programmes.ConclusionsWell-designed pragmatic trials that include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness and detailed process evaluations are necessary to establish the accuracy of different identification models, as well as their effectiveness in connecting students to appropriate support in real-world settings.

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School-based education programmes for the prevention of unintentional injuries in children and young people

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews ◽

10.1002/14651858.cd010246.pub2 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Elizabeth Orton ◽

Jessica Whitehead ◽

Jacqueline Mhizha-Murira ◽

Mandy Clarkson ◽

Michael C Watson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Unintentional Injuries ◽

Children And Young People ◽

School Based

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Consent in School-Based Research Involving Children and Young People: A Survey of Research from Systematic Reviews

Research Ethics ◽

10.1177/174701610700300202 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 35-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R.W. Rees ◽

J. Garcia ◽

A. Oakley

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Young People ◽

Research Design ◽

Systematic Reviews ◽

Children And Young People ◽

Research Participants ◽

School Settings ◽

Codes Of Practice ◽

School Based ◽

Study Characteristics

This study examines the way that consent is reported for participation in school-based research involving children or young people aged from 5 to 16 years. Databases containing descriptions of research identified during systematic reviews were surveyed to determine to what extent consent is sought, and from whom, and to see whether reporting varied by study characteristics such as the age of participants, the country in which the research was carried out, research design and substantive area of study. Of a total of 489 studies in school settings involving children or young people, less than a third (n=145:30%) reported seeking consent. Only one in seven (n=66:13%) sought consent from children or young people themselves. Consent was reported significantly more frequently in studies sourced from health promotion reviews, when compared to those sourced from education reviews. Codes of practice indicate that researchers should seek consent from research participants. This study demonstrates that these principles are often not reflected in practice.

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