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The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of a garden-based teaching unit about "Food and Nutrition" on students' knowledge and habits of sustainable healthy diets, and to compare it with that of a more traditional unit from a textbook. This communication is framed in a research project (EDUCYL2020-01 "Sembrando interés, cosechando competencia", financed by the Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León through the Dirección General de Innovación y Formación del Profesorado (ORDEN EDU/262/2020, de 9 de marzo, "por la que se convoca la selección de proyectos de investigación educativa a desarrollar por equipos de profesores y equipos de inspectores que presten servicios educativos de la Comunidad de Castilla y León durante los cursos 2020/2021")) whose aim is to improve science education by approaching scientific topics of the official curriculum from a context-based strategy. The authors first designed a teaching-learning sequence, using an organic learning garden as a context, including real-life activities to promote reflection and debate among students. Such a sequence was implemented in a group of 40 students at the third course of Spanish compulsory secondary education, whose results were compared with those of a group of 15 students who followed the textbook. The impact was assessed by posing four open questions to students from the two groups, both at the beginning and the end of the instruction, whose answers were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results show that implementing the sequence constituted an educational improvement with respect to traditional teaching, since students' answers on the topic were overall more comprehensive and evidenced better preparation for making real-life decisions. Students from the experimental group became more aware of the environmental impacts of human nutrition, and of sustainable healthy diets. It was also indicated that the health and nutrition-centered approach that still predominates in education needs to be overcome, and a sustainable approach needs to be taken. This is a novel study that leads a new line of research devoted to addressing education about sustainable food, which arises from the demands of raising awareness among citizens toward changing diets within the transition toward sustainable food systems.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a risk factor for depressive disorders and other harms to women and their pregnancy. There is a need for longitudinal evidence to assist with understanding the subgroups of women including those from refugee background affected by IPV. We recruited women at their prenatal visit from three antenatal clinics in Australia (January 2015–March 2016). A total of 1335 women, 650 (48.7%) born in Australia and 685 (51.3%) from refugee backgrounds, completed baseline assessment; then, Time 2 follow-up was at 6 months and Time 3 follow-up was at 24 months post birth. The WHO Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) measure was used. Latent class growth analysis grouped individuals based on trajectories of IPV across three time points. A three-step process identified characteristics associated with respective latent class membership. Similar three-class solutions were observed across both cohorts, composed of Limited IPV (64% and 48% Australian-born and refugee background, respectively); Changing IPV (31%; 46%)—various combinations of IPV categories across time; Combined IPV (4%; 6%)—IPV at all time points, all transitioning to the combined physical and psychological abuse category at Time 3. Older age, fewer children, being in a couple, having a better partner, family and friend relationships, fewer partner trauma events, and fewer living difficulties emerged as protective factors for the changing and combined categories, with a distinct pattern for the refugee cohort. The findings assist with understanding and defining of the highest risk group for targeting interventions to prevent IPV, and the unique protective factors across the two IPV-affected classes for women born in Australia and those who arrived as refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Schools play a key role in supporting the well-being and resettlement of refugee children, and parental engagement with the school may be a critical factor in the process. Many resettlement countries have policies in place to support refugee parents' engagement with their children's school. However, the impact of these programs lacks systematic evaluation. This study first aimed to validate self-report measures of parental school engagement developed specifically for the refugee context, and second, to identify parent characteristics associated with school engagement, so as to help tailor support to families most in need. Methods and findings The report utilises 2016 baseline data of a cohort study of 233 Arabic-speaking parents (77% response rate) of 10- to 12-year-old schoolchildren from refugee backgrounds across 5 schools in Sydney, Australia. Most participants were born in Iraq (81%) or Syria (11%), and only 25% spoke English well to very well. Participants' mean age was 40 years old, and 83% were female. Confirmatory factor analyses were run on provisional item sets identified from a literature review and separate qualitative study. The findings informed the development of 4 self-report tools assessing parent engagement with the school and school community, school belonging, and quality of the relationship with the schools' bilingual cultural broker. Cronbach alpha and Pearson correlations with an established Teacher-Home Communication subscale demonstrated adequate reliability ([alpha] = 0.67 to 0.80) and construct and convergent validity of the measures (p < 0.01), respectively. Parent characteristics were entered into respective least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses. The degree of parents' psychological distress (as measured by the Kessler10 self-report instrument) and postmigration living difficulties (PLMDs) were each associated with lower school engagement and belonging, whereas less time lived in Australia, lower education levels, and an unemployed status were associated with higher ratings in relationship quality with the schools' cultural broker. Study limitations include the cross-sectional design and the modest amount of variance (8% to 22%) accounted for by the regression models. Conclusions The study offers preliminary refugee-specific measures of parental school engagement. It is expected they will provide a resource for evaluating efforts to support the integration of refugee families into schools. The findings support the need for initiatives that identify and support parents with school-attending children from refugee backgrounds who are experiencing psychological distress or resettlement stressors. At the school level, the findings suggest that cultural brokers may be effective in targeting newly arrived families., Author(s): Jess R. Baker *, Derrick Silove, Deserae Horswood, Afaf Al-Shammari, Mohammed Mohsin, Susan Rees, Valsamma Eapen Introduction Global refugee numbers are at a record high, of which school aged [...]

The article discusses the impact of the Israel-Gaza war on the mental health of populations living in multicultural Western countries, particularly in Australia. It highlights the unique characteristics of trauma experienced by these populations, including the historical traumas of the Jewish and Palestinian people. The article emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing the wide-ranging stress responses and indirect expressions of trauma among people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. It also provides recommendations for health professionals on how to respond to the mental health needs of individuals affected by the war. The article calls for a broad public health approach that advocates for understanding, validation, and the promotion of order and peace in the community. [Extracted from the article]