Integrating the Ecohealth Approach into Nepali School Education Curricula: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract

Nepal faces critical environmental challenges, including deforestation, escalating air and water pollution, landslides, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, climate change, and the encroachment of natural habitats. These issues result in several public health problems, which warrant effective pedagogical interventions to equip future generations with the knowledge to create sustainable and healthy communities through school education. This study aimed to explore the prospects and challenges of incorporating Ecohealth education into Nepali school education curricula. We employed a qualitative argumentative approach through the review of both grey and peer-reviewed literature. We reviewed nine grey and 31 peer reviewed studies to discuss the prospects and challenges of integrating Ecohealth approach to education particularly into the Nepal’s school education curricula. Findings of this study show that he National Curriculum Framework-2019 incorporates health and environmental content abundantly across the basic and secondary school education but it does not explicitly connect health and environmental content from Ecohealth perspective. Thus, this study, discusses multiple rationales for embedding the Ecohealth approach to education and its integration in the school curriculum under three themes: environmental sustainability; social equity and community engagement; and pedagogical innovation and health outcomes. Moreover, the study indicates the possible pathways and anticipated challenges for embedding Ecohealth education into the school curriculum. The study concludes with the need to integrate health and environmental content as an interdisciplinary subject, like Ecohealth education, into the school curriculum to empower school-going students as proactive change agents to address the interconnected challenges of human health and environmental sustainability. For this, policymakers, educators, and stakeholders should work collaboratively to overcome the existing barriers and prioritize the Ecohealth approach to education in the school education system.