Early childhood, Health and Food
Code: 102005 ECTS Credits: 4| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Early Childhood Education | FB | 3 |
Contact
- Name:
- Rafael Montiel Duarte
- Email:
- rafael.montiel@uab.cat
Teachers
- Roser Pratdesaba Moreno
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
It is desirable to have passed the subjects of Education and Educational Contexts (1st year) and Society, Family and School (2nd year).
Objectives and Contextualisation
The course Childhood, Health and Nutrition aims to provide future early childhood education professionals with the basic tools to promote children's well-being and healthy development from a holistic perspective. The main objectives are:
- To understand the general organization of the human body, its systems and organs, and the basic physiological processes involved in growth, nutrition and child development.
- To understand the fundamental principles of nutrition and healthy eating in early childhood, as well as the factors that may influence them (habits, socioeconomic context, culture, etc.).
- To explore the relationship between health, nutrition, sleep, movement and emotional development, and to identify strategies that foster healthy habits in the school setting.
- To develop resources and strategies for health education, including body awareness, self-care and prevention.
- To acquire basic skills for early detection, collaborate with healthcare professionals and intervene in first aid situations within the educational environment.
Competences
- Accept that the exercise of the teaching function must be refined and adapted lifelong to scientific, educational and social changes.
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Collaborate with specialized professionals to solve these problems.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the evolution of the basics of children's dietetics and hygiene.
- Detect emotional, nutritional and wellness needs that hinder the proper physical and mental development of pupils.
- Guide parents regarding family education in the 0-6 period.
- Identifying disorders in sleep, feeding, psychomotor development, attention and auditory and visual perception.
- Learn the basic principles of healthy development and behaviour.
- Maintain a respectful attitude for the environment (natural, social and cultural) to promote values, behaviours and practices that address gender equality, equity and respect for human rights.
Learning Outcomes
- Being aware of the constant renewal of scientific knowledge related to health, and understanding the importance of permanent updating and continuous training.
- Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
- Detect emotional, nutritional and wellness needs that hinder the proper physical and mental development of pupils.
- Identifying disorders in sleep, feeding, psychomotor development, attention and auditory and visual perception.
- Know the basic principles of nutrition and the composition of a balanced diet.
- Know the main habits to maintain good children's health.
- Know the resources and networks that exist to establish partnerships between health professionals and educators.
- Learn the basic principles of human physiology, including child growth and development and human diversity.
- Learn the basics of healthy eating.
- Understand that certain individual attitudes can have effects on the health of the people around us and foster responsible practices.
- Understand that promoting health in children includes the whole family.
Content
Health and healthcare services
Introduction to the concepts of health and illness, levels of care and healthcare systems, and the role of health education in early childhood settings.
The human body and development
General organization of the human body, child growth and development, biological diversity, and basic notions of inheritance.
Nutrition, food and healthy habits
Basic principles of child nutrition, food culture, and the promotion of healthy habits in schools and at home.
Body systems and vital functions
Knowledge of the main body systems and their relationship to vital energy, movement, internal regulation, and overall health.
Health education, early detection and first aid
Education for self-care, prevention, and health promotion. Early detection of health-related needs or disorders, and basic first aid response in educational contexts.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| face-to-face teaching | 20 | 0.8 | 10, 6, 8, 7, 3, 1 |
| Seminars | 10 | 0.4 | 10, 6, 8, 7, 3, 1 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Academic tutoring | 15 | 0.6 | 10, 6, 8, 7, 3, 1 |
| Evaluation | 5 | 0.2 | 10, 6, 8, 7, 3, 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| student's autonomous work | 50 | 2 | 10, 6, 8, 7, 3, 1 |
The protagonist in the teaching-learning process is the student and it is under this premise that the methodology of the subject has been planned. Training activities will be carried out in small groups, and participation will be encouraged through the digital tools available on the Virtual Campus.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compendium of the activities carried out during face-to-face teaching (activities proposed at theory classes will be individual, whereas those from seminars will be either individual or by pairs) | 20% | 0 | 0 | 2, 10, 6, 8, 5, 7, 9, 3, 11, 4, 1 |
| Examination of the firts part of the subject | 40% | 0 | 0 | 6, 8, 5, 9, 3, 4 |
| Examination of the seconfd part of the subject (individual) | 40% | 0 | 0 | 6, 8, 5, 9, 3, 4 |
In order to pass the subject, a minimum average grade of 5 must be obtained.
In this grade, the average grade of the controls (individual and in test-type format) will be counted whenever this is equal to or greater than 4 (to be considered in the calculation of the average of the controls the minimum grade of each control must be of 4).
There will be two partial exams. For the Wednesday morning group the first one will be on April 8th and the second on June 17th. For the Friday evening group the first one will be on April 10th and the second on June 12th.
The recovery exam will be on July 1st for the Wednesday morning group, and June 26th for the Friday evening group. The recovery exam is only for those students who have failed or who have not taken any of the two tests.
There will be 10 hours of seminar throughout the course. Although the work methodology in each of them can be individual or group, a final document must be delivered for its individual evaluation. The average of the activities derived from the seminars must reach 4 in order to be considered for the final grade of the subject.
In relation to the evidence of the activities carried out in face-to-face classes, these will only be collected during the period indicated by the teacher. For these evidences there will be no recovery.
To pass this subject, the student needs to show good general communication skills, both orally and in writing, and a command of the language or vehicular languages listed in the teaching guide. In all activities (individual and group), linguistic correction, writing and formal aspects of presentation will therefore be taken into account. Students must be able to express themselves fluently and correctly and must show a high degree of understanding of academic texts. An activity can be returned (not evaluated) or suspended if the teacher considers that it does not meet these requirements.
Class attendance is compulsory: the student must attend a minimum of 80% of classes, both theory and seminars. Otherwise, it will be considered Not Submitted. You will also be graded Not Presented if you do not attend any ofthe two controls.
The activities carried out in the classroom will be delivered throughout the semester and will be returned in a period not exceeding 20 working days. The online delivery tools available on the Virtual Campus will be used preferentially, but the seminars will also have face-to-face deliveries at the end of the session.
During the performance of the evaluation controls, the copying of another classmate will result in the qualification of a zero in the activity. In case of recidivism, the entire subject will be suspended.
In the evaluation of autonomous activities, copying or plagiarism of material constitutes a serious infraction, which will result in the activity being graded zero. In case of recidivism, the entire subject will be suspended.
Single assessment: It will take place on June 17th 2026 for wednesday group and June 12th for friday group, there will be a face-to-face exam in which the theoretical content of the entire course will be assessed (80% of the mark) and all seminar activities will be delivered individually (20 % of the grade) through the virtual campus. The minimum grade to be able to average the exam and the seminar assignments must be equal to or higher than 4 in each of the parts. On July 1st or June 26, there will be a make-up test for students who have failed the theory exam.
Restricted use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
This subject allows the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies exclusively in tasks of bibliographic search or search for information, correction of texts or translations. Other situations can be contemplated, always with the approval of the teacher. In any case, the student must (i) identify the parts that have been generated with AI; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The non-transparency of the use of AI in this evaluable activity will be considered lack of academic honesty and implies that the activity is evaluated with a 0 and cannot be recovered, or greater penalties in more serious cases.
Bibliography
Cassan, A. (2009). El gran llibre del cos humà. (2ª edició). Barcelona: Ed. Parramón.
Chiras, D. D. (2015). Human Biology. (8th Edition). London: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Generalitat de Catalunya. (1984). Educació per a la salut a l'escola. Orientacions i programes. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya.
Estivill, E., Pin, G. (2016) Peditaría con sentido comun.(1ª Edición). Madrid: Debolsillo
Lissauer, T., Clayden, G. (2008). Texto ilustrado de Pediatría. (3ª Edición) Madrid: Elsevier España, S.L.
Organización Mundial de la Salud. Política de igualdad de genero. Recuperat de: https://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2680%3Agender-equality-policy&catid=3344%3Agender&Itemid=4017&lang=es
Stuart I.F. . (2008). Fisiología Humana. (10ª Edició).Madrid:Mac GRaw-Hill interamericana.
Omeda. Enfermedades infantiles. Recuperat de: https://www.onmeda.es/enfermedades/enfermedades_infantiles.htmlOpenstax Anatomy & Physiology. https://openstax.org/details/books/anatomy-and-physiology(on-line open access)
Software
No specific software is required
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (SEM) Seminars | 611 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 621 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 61 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 62 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |