Health Education Curriculum in Secondary Education of Mongolia

Abstract

School-based health education is essential for children and adolescents to learn proper knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Further, it helps them to become a healthy and self-responsible individual. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that school health education can be delivered in multiple ways and can be taught as a separate curriculum or as a part of other subjects. In the 2018-2019 school year, the Health Education Curriculum was introduced through 4 to 12th grade as a separate subject in Mongolia, including six health modules, such as personal hygiene and environmental health, healthy eating and physical activity, mental and emotional health, sexual and reproductive health, risky behaviors, and safety. A well-designed and well-resourced health education curriculum is crucial for promoting health for school pupils and broader communities. To our knowledge, no research has been conducted that has assessed the Mongolian Health Education subject since it was introduced in schools. This paper discusses the current state of the Health education curriculum. In addition, we discussed the significance of the Mongolian Health education curricula topics with the Health Education Curriculum Assessment Tool (HECAT), developed by the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, which further intended to assess Mongolia's Health Education Curriculum. The HECAT modules are used to assess curricula, including health-related topics. The HECAT is designed to assist K-12 by providing guidance, analyzing tools, and resources for completing accurate and sequential assessments of locally developed school-based health education curricula.