Education Section: Part 6
Resources and lesson plans for secondary schools
Supporting secondary schools and youth groups
To register for the Bodywhys ‘Inside Out’ programme, simply submit this short form and we will direct you to the dedicated resources page.
Bodywhys believes that teachers and youth workers are often the best placed to help detect and support young people affected by eating disorders. Teachers can also effectively promote positive body image and wellbeing within the school setting and may be in a position to work with school pastoral care teams and management staff to remove barriers which may prevent a student with body image issues or an eating disorder from reaching their full potential. Bodywhys have a range of resources to support teachers in these areas.
REsources for secondary schools and youth groups
Unfortunately body image is a common issue affecting young people with recent research in Ireland indicating that 65% of young people report body image concerns impacting their mental health. Research also indicates that eating disorders are increasingly common in young people with a 43% rise in hospitalisations in under 18s for eating disorders in recent years. It is vital that we promote awareness of eating disorders and the supports available to support early help seeking and recovery. It is also vital that we support young people to understand the challenges to body image and wellbeing that affect them and to navigate these. Bodywhys have developed new resources in collaboration with teachers, young people and mental health professionals which are designed to be relevant and engaging and to empower young people with knowledge to make practical changes to support their wellbeing, body image and mental health.
The Bodywhys Inside Out Programme
The Bodywhys Inside Out Programme has been developed in collaboration with teachers, young people and mental health professionals to promote awareness of eating disorders and the supports available, to improve body image, media and social media literacy and overall wellbeing.
The programme combines expert knowledge, lived experience stories, and interactive classroom activities to promote open, respectful conversations about body image and mental health. Lessons have been designed for ease of use within the classroom context with clear teacher guides including question prompts and answers. Each lesson includes engaging video content, guided discussions, and reflective worksheets and additional links to relevant information and supports for students.
The ‘Inside Out’ Programme has been designed for use in the classroom setting as part of Junior Cycle SPHE. The materials are age-appropriate, evidence-informed, and designed to empower both teachers and students to engage with these important topics safely and confidently. For more background on the development of the ‘Inside Out’ programme scroll to the bottom of this page.
Staff training
Bodywhys training for school staff will provide teachers and youth workers with an understanding of eating disorders and body image issues to support them in early recognition of an eating disorder or body image concerns in a student and the correct pathways to follow should a concern arise. Early intervention and treatment of an eating disorder can greatly increase the likelihood of a successful recovery and the long term well-being of the person affected.
Talks and workshops
Bodywhys provide talks and workshops for students in secondary school to promote awareness of eating disorders and to promote positive body image and media literacy. Bodywhys can tailor these information talks to suit any year group and can also provide workshops to students in smaller groups. The content of our ‘Be Body Positive’ talks and workshops can be discussed and prearranged with teachers depending on the needs of the year or class group. Teachers and youth workers are encouraged to highlight any relevant issues to the Bodywhys Schools Team so that these can be addressed and/or suitable information and support options discussed in relation to the particular concerns.
Project ideas and workshops with project groups
Body image, media literacy and eating disorders are popular topic choices for students who are interested in participating in the Young Social Innovators programme, in the Transition Year Annual Show or as part of mental health awareness during Cycle Against Suicide or other mental health promotion events. Leaving Cert Applied students who are interested in promoting awareness of these areas as part of a social issues module may also be interested in a talk or workshop. Bodywhys input to the relevant project group can acknowledge and support their interest in promoting awareness of these important issues. You could also encourage students to get involved in the Bodywhys ‘Body Positive’ Project. You can find out more here.
Background to development of the ‘Inside Out’ programme
The ‘Inside Out’ programme builds on the success of the earlier Bodywhys #MoreThanASelfie programme - see here for more information.
In 2018 Bodywhys conducted research (funded by the Irish Research Council) in collaboration with Maynooth University and the Centre for Mental Health and Community Research (CMHCR) at Maynooth to develop and evaluate a schools based intervention to promote positive body image and social media literacy in young adolescents. This research involved three separate but related stages undertaken to: (i) develop and co-design, in collaboration with young people and teachers, a school-based intervention to promote positive body image and social media literacy; (ii) pilot test the new intervention to assess its ability to enhance social media literacy, improve body image and, at the same time, examine the nature and experience of media and social media use in the young adolescent (age 11-14); and (iii) to increase awareness of the importance of body image as a key issue for youth mental health whilst also disseminating the study findings.
Stage One of this multi-stage project, involved the development of the #MTAS intervention, which incorporated engaged research approaches throughout. Stage Two of the research involved: (1) a non-randomised pilot evaluation of the intervention involving 161 young people from three schools; and (2) the exploration of participants’ experiences and views of the intervention. Stage Three of the research involved the development of a comprehensive website dedicated to promoting positive body image and to include a focus on parents and education professionals as well as young people themselves.
Findings:
Almost all participants reported using social media daily (92%) with only small proportions using/checking it every few days (5%), or less than once a week (3%). More than half the sample reported checking social media at night (55%).dAlmost one in five of the sample (17%) and proportionately more males (22%) than females (16%) had started using SM before the age of 10, while the largest proportion of the sample (59%) had started at age 10 or 11
Results suggest that participation in the #MoreThanASelfie intervention had positive effects on participant’s attitudes to their body image, particularly among male students. A reduction in drive for muscularity was observed in boys who participated in the intervention and a reduction in overall time spent on social media was also demonstrated in male intervention participants at follow up compared to boys in the control group. Positive changes were also noted for female intervention participants with a reduction in perceived pressure from family related to appearance noted and an improvement in social media literacy compared to the control group.
The feedback from participants on their experience of the #MoreThanASelfie programme (on anonymous evaluation forms at follow up) was overwhelmingly positive. The vast majority of participants (91%, 77/85) felt that the programme was good for their class, with only some small variations by school type (all boys school: 89%, mixed School: 91% and all-girls school: 94%). Likewise, most respondents (88%, 75/85) indicated that they would like a younger sibling or friend to receive the programme (88%, all boys school: 86%, co-educational school: 89% and all girls school; 88%).
Development of the ‘Inside Out’ Programme
The ‘Inside Out’ Programme was developed through a similar engaged research process involving focus groups with teachers, young people in school and community settings and semi-structured interviews with SPHE teachers, guidance counsellors and school Principals. The new lessons incorporate the same evidence informed approaches including: cognitive dissonance activities to encourage students to speak out against unrealistic media ideals; media and social media literacy exercises to promote critical thinking in relation media messaging, media techniques used pre and post production and to encourage discussion in the peer environment to effect attitude and behavioural change. The lessons also incorporate psychoeducational approaches to promote awareness of eating disorders (symptoms, cause, progression) and skill-building to promote early identification of risk factors and early help seeking.
