Filling the black box of implementation for health‐promoting schools

Abstract

Purpose -Achieving organisational learning and greater specificity for implementation action for health-promoting schools requires detailed understanding of the necessary components. They include: preparing and planning for school development, policy and institutional anchoring, professional development and learning, leadership and management practices, relational and organisational context, student participation, partnerships and networking, and sustainability. This paper seeks to elaborate a theoretically based rationale for how these eight components of implementation need to be put into action. Design/methodology/approach -Building on the narrative synthesis in the complementary paper ("Theoretical base for implementation components of health-promoting schools", this issue), examples drawn from empirical research and evaluation reports in the field of health-promoting schools are used to operationalise the function of the components. Findings -This elaboration anchors specific implementation actions within their own theoretical and empirical base, a significant advance on previous guidelines. The eight components have been articulated separately. However, in practice they operate interdependently. Context and culture issues also need to be accommodated. Practical implications -The level of specificity provided in this paper has the potential to enhance school staff professional learning, as it fulfils one of the characteristics for successful school-based education, namely practical, detailed implementation and enough flexibility, allowing shaping to suit specific contexts. Originality/value -The identification of this knowledge base should enable practitioners to develop an in-depth understanding of the operational functioning of existing guidelines, thereby enhancing their practice. The specificity provided holds promise to enhance the science base and quality of implementation.

An examination of Health Promoting Schools in Ireland

“…In terms of staff training, which is very important (Jourdan, 2011) , 70% of the SPHE teachers had been trained, which still left a deficit of 30% untrained. A designated team to develop and implement HPS has been identified as critical (Firth et al, 2008;Rowling and Samdal, 2011). The Australian experience identified that successful teams had certain characteristics which included, inclusion of management, holding regular meetings in school time, drawing team members from a range of areas within the school, retaining most of the members over at least three years and having clear roles within the team as well as shared responsibility (Firth et al, 2008).…”

Providing context to the implementation of health promoting schools: A case study

“…This study provides insight into factors influencing the implementation of HPS practices across the province of NS and adds to the growing evidence that suggests that context is a critical feature in understanding the dissemination and sustainability of the HPS approach (Rowling & Jeffreys, 2006;Rowling & Samdal, 2011). Policies and practices were inherently influenced by characteristics unique to individual schools, which have been previously shown to influence the implementation of change, or an innovation (like HPS) in schools (Hall & Hord, 1987;Payne, Gottfredson, & Gottfredson, 2006).…”

“…Research has shown that educators, the essential supporters of HPS, are often concerned with seeking practical solutions and gaining new knowledge that meets their situational needs, organizational circumstance and stage of growth (Boot, van Assema, Hesdahl, & de Vries, 2010;Butler et al, 2008;Mohammadi et al, 2010;Rowling & Jeffreys, 2006). Features related to organizational context, such as capacity and school culture, have also been cited as critical to HPS success and sustainability (Rowling & Jeffreys, 2006;Rowling & Samdal, 2011). Therefore, it is essential to understand the interaction between the practical features (i.e., what is being done), the functional processes (i.e., how it is being done) and the contextual environment of schools in relation to HPS implementation.…”

Towards dynamic and interdisciplinary frameworks for school-based mental health promotion

“…Another key determinant of the success appears to be effective implementation (Barry and Jenkins, 2007;Rowling and Samdal, 2011). Many studies show that complete and accurate implementation leads to more positive outcomes, suggesting that fidelity to programmes is important.…”