Risky topics in health education: Enacted content when students with migration backgrounds meet Swedish health education

School health educational content often entails different subject areas and a variety of topics that students are supposed to learn, and when taught in diverse classrooms, potentially positions students as at-risk. Using vignettes in interviews with migrant students in Sweden, the study focuses on views of the content of health education in relation to different ways that health as risk is enacted. Four aspects of risk were identified: (i) risk as content in health education and risky, including topics such as nutrition, stress, smoking, and pollution; (ii) risk as content in health education but not so risky, including topics such as health care and disease prevention; (iii) not-so-risky topics in health education, including topics such as physical activity, physical health, and social relations; and (iv) not risk as content in health education but still risky, including topics related to sex education. Teachers in health education, regardless of school subject, should be aware that some topics position students as being at-risk, other topics put students at-risk even if the topics are not about risk per se, and lastly, that risk can be something with pedagogical potential if it is used purposefully and educationally.

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Publication Details

Journal
European Educational Research Journal
Published
2025-11-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041251388801
Primary Topic
School Health and Nursing Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Risky topics in health education: Enacted content when students with migration backgrounds meet Swedish health education

Annica Caldeborg, Valeria Varea, Mikael Quennerstedt, Dean Barker
European Educational Research Journal
School Health and Nursing Education
article

Risky topics in health education: Enacted content when students with migration backgrounds meet Swedish health education

Annica Caldeborg, Valeria Varea, Mikael Quennerstedt, Dean Barker
article en

Abstract

School health educational content often entails different subject areas and a variety of topics that students are supposed to learn, and when taught in diverse classrooms, potentially positions students as at-risk. Using vignettes in interviews with migrant students in Sweden, the study focuses on views of the content of health education in relation to different ways that health as risk is enacted. Four aspects of risk were identified: (i) risk as content in health education and risky, including topics such as nutrition, stress, smoking, and pollution; (ii) risk as content in health education but not so risky, including topics such as health care and disease prevention; (iii) not-so-risky topics in health education, including topics such as physical activity, physical health, and social relations; and (iv) not risk as content in health education but still risky, including topics related to sex education. Teachers in health education, regardless of school subject, should be aware that some topics position students as being at-risk, other topics put students at-risk even if the topics are not about risk per se, and lastly, that risk can be something with pedagogical potential if it is used purposefully and educationally.

European Educational Research Journal
Edith Cowan University (AU), Dalarna University (SE), OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University (NO), Örebro University (SE), Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (SE)
Vetenskapsrådet
Openalex Percentile: Top 57%
School Health and Nursing Education
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