Research
Are you a Foundation to Year 2 Primary School teacher and are enthusiastic about teaching your students about building body confidence? Join our Achieving Body Confidence study.
About the research project
In 2016, the EMBodIED Research Team at La Trobe University, in conjunction with researchers from the College of Education at Victoria University, conducted a pilot evaluation of the Achieving Body Confidence for Young Children (ABC-4-YC) program. The aim was to assess how well the program works in the classroom. A summary report of the pilot study results will be available here by mid-2017.
In 2017, the research team will be conducting a larger evaluation of the ABC-4-YC program. The aim of this project is to establish the impact of ABC-4-YC on the mental health of Foundation to Year 2 primary school children by examining the outcomes of children who receive the ABC-4-YC program in their classroom compared with children who receive their regular classroom curriculum.
Join the project
We are looking for Foundation to Year 2 primary school teachers across Melbourne, who are enthusiastic about delivering the ABC-4-YC lessons in their classroom in 2016. Or School Principals who are interested in their Foundation to Year 2 teachers delivering the lessons.
We are looking for 20 teachers across Melbourne to be involved, and a total of 120 Foundation to Year 2 students and one of their parents.
We will ask teachers to
Attend a free professional development workshop and complete questionnaires. Specifically, Foundation to Year 2 teachers who choose to participate in the research will be randomly allocated to be either an intervention class (who receive ABC-4-YC as part of their curriculum) or a control class (who receive their usual curriculum for the duration of the research and receive ABC-4-YC at the end of their participation).
Intervention class:
Teachers allocated to the intervention group will attend a 2 hour professional development workshop with the researchers to aid the delivery of the 3 x 1 hour ABC-4-YC lessons. Teachers will also be asked to complete an online questionnaire prior to and following the delivery of ABC-4-YC to their class, and 6 weeks later.
Control class:
Teachers allocated to the control group will receive an online video about the research procedures and be asked to complete an online questionnaire at the beginning of the research, two weeks later, and 6 weeks later. At the conclusion of the research, these teachers will then receive an invitation to attend an online professional development workshop for delivering the ABC-4-YC program in their classroom, and be able to deliver ABC-4-YC lessons to their class if they choose.
We will ask children to
Complete three play-based interviews (up to 30 minutes each) over the duration of the research. Using interview techniques that we have used with more than 500 children since 2012, a trained interviewer will ask children about body attitudes, teasing, and body image. Children will be involved in the ABC-4-YC program as part of their regular classroom health program, which will be delivered in line with the Victorian Curriculum by their classroom teacher.
We will ask parents/guardians to
Provide consent for their child to be interviewed and complete a short online questionnaire, which may take up to 20 minutes, assessing body image and body attitudes. Parents/guardians must be over the age of 18 years and be fluent in English.
What are the benefits
By participating you are making an important and valuable contribution to the research. It is anticipated that ABC-4-YC lessons will improve the mental health of young children at an age when they are forming and consolidating body size attitudes, to minimise the risk of later development of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, obesity, and other mental health issues for Victoria’s young children. Participation in this research will help us to determine the effectiveness of ABC-4-YC to achieve these improvements, which will enable us to formally recommend that ABC-4-YC lessons are included in Foundation to Year 2 health classes across Australia.
For more information or to join us
For more information or to join us, you can contact us at:
T: 03 9479 1906