ObjectiveThe aim of this research study was to identify the core competencies for health education teachers in supporting the development of health literacy among their students.Method/ResultsA three round Delphi method was employed. Experts in health education were asked to identify core competencies for school health educators. Twenty six participants from the academic field were invited to participate in the study. Twenty participants completed the first round of the Delphi, while eighteen took part in round two and fifteen participated in the final round. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire. The first round contained an open ended question in which participants were asked to name and define all the competencies they perceived were important. Thematic analysis was undertaken on these data. A list of 36 competencies was created from this round. This list was then returned to the same participants and they were asked to rate each competency on a 7 point semantic differential scale in terms of importance. The resulting data were then analysed. For the final round, participants were presented with a list of 33 competencies and were asked to rank them again, in order of importance.ConclusionTwelve core competencies emerged from the analysis and these competencies comprised of a mixture of knowledge, attitude and skills. The authors suggest that how these competencies are achieved and operationalised in the school context can be quite complex and multi-faceted. While the authors do not seek to generalise from the study they suggest that these competencies are an important input for all stakeholders, in order to question national and international teacher guidelines. In addition the competencies identified may provide a useful starting point for others to undertake deeper analysis of what it means to be an effective health educator in schools.

Purpose: This paper reports the results of a national survey that examined the extent of implementation of health promoting schools (HPS) in Ireland.Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research design was adopted. A questionnaire was administered to all post primary schools in the country (n=704). Data were analysed with the support of the software packages, SPSS and MaxQDA.Findings: A response rate of 56% (n=394) was achieved. Over half of these schools (56%) selfidentified as health promoting. Schools reported success in the areas of environment and curriculum and learning, however, partnerships and policy and planning required more attention. Some models of good practice emerged from the data but these were in the minority. Many schools, when asked to describe health promotion in their school, placed emphasis on physical health (diet and exercise) and curriculum predominately rather than the broader whole school conceptualisation. Only 35% of HPS schools had a team supporting HPS developments. Only 36% identified the existence of a school policy to support HPS. This suggests that further coherence for sustained and comprehensive implementation of HPS is necessary. Research limitations:The research was conducted with school staff, in the first instance who self-reported their school's level of HPS engagement.Originality/value: This paper offers the first national baseline data available in relation to engagement in HPS in Ireland. It provides a valuable starting point from which further research with schools in this field can be conducted.Keywords: Health Promoting Schools, School, Environment, Curriculum, Policy, Partnership Article Classification: Research paper Introduction Defining health promoting schoolsSchools are recognised as important settings for health promotion (Mukoma and Flisher, 2004;St. Leger et al., 2010). Behaviours that have a profound effect on health status, such as physical activity and diet are established during the school years (Mohammadi et al., 2010). The foundation of health promoting schools has its origins in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (WHO 1986), where schools were identified as an important health promoting setting. The principles outlined in the charter were adopted for schools by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and became known as the Health Promoting School (HPS) concept (Whitman and Aldinger, 2009). A HPS is defined as a school that is "constantly strengthening its capacity to be a healthy setting for living, learning and working by focusing on all the conditions that effect health" (WHO 1998, p.2).In HPS the didactic approach to teaching health is replaced by a more holistic model of health education, in the hope that an all-encompassing approach will help to promote health gain. Indeed, "school health programmes that co-ordinate the delivery of education and health services and promote a healthy environment could become one of the most efficient means available for almost every nation in the world to improve significantly the well-being of its peo...

PurposeNational policy in Ireland states that all teachers are teachers of Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE). However national evaluations identify that all teachers do not subscribe to this view. This research aimed to examine the experiences and attitudes of undergraduate students towards teaching SPHE.Design/methodology/approachAn on‐line questionnaire including closed and open questions was distributed to all undergraduate post primary teacher education students (N=1105) in the University of Limerick which is the largest provider of teacher education in Ireland. None of the respondents had exposure to third level education in SPHE or more generally in health education.FindingsA response rate of 44.7 per cent was achieved (N=494). Only 24.5 per cent indicated that they plan to teach SPHE on graduation. There were significant gender differences in relation to students' intention to teach SPHE on graduation. Incentives to teach were less altruistic for males (money and job security) than females (personal interest in the subject).Research limitations/implicationsThe convenience sampling approach was useful in illuminating the attitudes of the undergraduate students sampled, however replication across teacher education programmes nationally is warranted. Inclusion of teacher educators' perspectives would also be valuable.Practical implicationsThere is a clear need for health promotion to be placed on the pre‐service teacher education curriculum. In addition, it is necessary to take into account pre‐service teacher attitude towards SPHE and gender differences in the design of the post primary teacher education curriculum.Originality/valueThis paper offers insight into how pre‐service teachers perceive their role in SPHE. It illuminates some challenges facing teacher educators in this field.

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Teacher education is critical to the successful implementation of health education in schools. This paper reports on the implementation of a pilot module in health education with initial teacher education students, which was offered on an optional basis to Physical Education graduate diploma students, in the University of Limerick, Ireland. Nine students decided to participate. The module was experiential and innovative in design. Pre and post tests were administered to students via questionnaire examining attitude, knowledge and experiences of Social Personal and Health Education. In addition a focus group was held with participants on completion of the module to gain a deeper understanding of their perspectives and experiences. The results indicate that as a result of exposure to health education, students reported increased confidence and interest in teaching SPHE in schools. Therefore, exposure to health education during initial teacher education has great potential as it can promote a positive disposition towards the subject. This paper challenges current provision of Health Education in initial teacher education and calls for a paradigm shift in policy, in this regard.