Empowering Children as Agents of Change to Foster Resilience in Community: Implementing "Creative Health" in Primary Schools after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Abstract

The "Creative Heath" project, a participatory school activity to foster community resilience, was implemented in Fukushima, Japan, and children's experiences of the project were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The project consists of three workshops: BODY, FOOD, and ACT, with activities to facilitate students' scientific and creative thinking, working in teams, presenting, and expressing their opinions. The first two schools participated with 105 students aged 9-11 years old. Before and after each workshop, students were given questionnaires to rate their satisfaction with their own health (BODY), local foods (FOOD), and the community at large (ACT) on a five-level scale, with space to add free comments. Ratings for BODY and FOOD changed significantly, and the proportion of students who increased their rating of an evaluation indicator after each workshop was 25% for BODY, 28% for FOOD, and 25% for ACT. Text analysis of free comments showed that students in the "increased" group appreciated presenting, measuring, learning connections between nutrition and health, and working collaboratively with peers. Children perceived their health and the foods in their community more positively after participating. Moreover, the Creative Health project could be a way to enhance children's creativity and autonomy as agents of change in the community.

Keywords: Fukushima nuclear accident; arts; children; community networks; humanities; resilience.

Figure 1

Aims of three Creative Health workshops. Students discuss their favorite foods in the ACT workshop and how to introduce historical figures in medicine during the BODY workshop. Details of the workshops are presented in the following tables.

Figure 1

Aims of three Creative Health workshops. Students discuss their favorite foods in the ACT workshop and how to introduce historical figures in medicine during the BODY workshop. Details of the workshops are presented in the following tables.

Figure 2

Students’ performance in the ACT workshop. Students’ performance “green tea” in the ACT workshop. They performed how tea leaves were picked (left), processed, served, and appreciated (right).

Figure 3

Correspondence analysis of words used in students’ opinions about the BODY workshop depending on changes in the evaluation indicator rating. The group with an increased rating of the workshop evaluation indicator was labeled as 1, no change in rating as 0, and a decreased rating as –1. Words that were not characteristic of any group were person, me, pulse, body, disease, history, blood, heart, medicine, study, and lungs.

Figure 4

Correspondence analysis of words used in students’ opinions about the FOOD workshop depending on changes in the evaluation indicator rating. The group with an increased rating of the workshop evaluation indicator was labeled as 1, no change in rating as 0, and a decreased rating as –1. Words that were not characteristic of any group were body, together, iron, balance, nutrition, iron, meat, study, food, fruit, vegetable, and vitamin.

Figure 5

Correspondence analysis of words used in students’ opinions about the ACT workshop depending on changes in the evaluation indicator rating. The group with an increased rating of the workshop evaluation indicator was labeled as 1, no change in rating as 0, and a decreased rating as –1. Words that were not characteristic of any group were Banana (name of a song), dance, game, food, body, collaborate, express, and Chicken (name of a game).