Program and School Characteristics Related to Teacher Participation in School Health Promotion~!2009-07-07~!2009-12-13~!2010-03-09~!

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of this study was to investigate conditions related to teacher participation in the planning and implementation of the Norwegian part of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools. One hundred and four teachers responded to the questionnaire at baseline and at three year follow-up. Teachers' personal interest and regard for the program aim were the main predictors of their self-reported participation in the program. Conditions perceived as enabling or hindering program implementation, as well as baseline characteristics of school culture and professional discretion were to a high extent related to participation in the program (Multiple R 2 = .52). Health promotion aiming at increasing the students' wellbeing and improving the school environment seemed to have been well received by teachers, and enabled their participation in the program. The findings imply that programs encouraging networking are likely to be successful in engaging teachers, and that such networking yields ample opportunities for professional learning.Keywords: Health promoting school, teacher participation, network, professional learning, professional discretion, supportive culture.Teacher participation is considered an important precondition for school development processes. However, there is no general "recipe" for how to facilitate teachers' participation in such processes, just as there is no "recipe" for how to facilitate school development processes in general [1,2]. This study investigates factors enabling or hindering teacher participation in the planning and implementation of the Norwegian part of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools.The 'Health Promoting School' (HPS) is a relatively recent concept, but the notion that the school setting can have a wide and varied role in meeting and influencing the health of young people and future adults is not new [3][4][5]. A HPS initiative is grounded in a holistic view of health, with the target being not just individual lifestyle, but the wider organisational and socio-environmental context of the whole school community [6][7][8]. Consequently, the development of a HPS involves a move from practices that rely mainly on classroom-based health education models to a more comprehensive, integrated construct of health promotion [6]. THE NORWEGIAN NETWORK OF HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS The Norwegian Network of Health Promoting Schools is part of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools (ENHPS eu/).The HPS program differs from other health-promoting and preventive measures in schools by being an overall policy program presupposing and facilitating changes in schools' traditional methodology and policy. The uniqueness of the HPS program lies in the way it focuses on including the whole school community in developing and implementing health promoting interventions [10,11].The ENHPS initially developed 12 criteria for a HPS [12]. Included in these criteria were guidelines about health enhancing physical and psychosocial environments, changes in curriculum in terms...

Increased Metacognition About Health and Learning in a Middle School-based Health Promotion Project Using an Action-oriented Research Model

“…Cooperation with other professions at the school is therefore necessary for successful health promotion in a broader sense in schools (Reuterswärd & Lagerström, 2010). Teachers' commitment to implementing health into their curriculum could be one way of increasing health promotion and getting pupils to understand the importance of health for their learning (Grieg Viig et al, 2010).…”

Interventions to Support System-level Implementation of Health Promoting Schools: A Scoping Review

“…Three Austrian studies investigated capacity building in relation to provincial support strategies [ 33 ], perceived support by schools [ 32 ] and provision of a pilot training course [ 34 ] ( micro- and exosystem ) and two other studies examined a regional network through stakeholders perceptions of learning [ 35 ] and side effects of HP [ 36 ] ( micro- and mesosystem ). Five studies in Norway discussed participation of schools in the Norwegian network of HP in terms of program leader support [ 37 ], teacher motivation and participation [ 38 ] and school implementation [ 39 , 40 , 41 ] ( micro- and mesosystem ). In Scotland, HP is well integrated into the school system, with all schools being required (and being monitored) to become a HPS since 2007 ( macrosystem ).…”

“…The compatibility of HPS with the education system was discussed in many studies as being an important incentive for schools and some studies mentioned this occurring through new national curricula [ 39 , 40 , 42 ] and policies [ 66 ]. If alignment was not achieved, studies reported many undesirable ‘side-effects’ [ 36 ] with professed lack of time and the busy school workload being a common barrier reported when HP was not well integrated into the system [ 36 , 39 , 41 , 61 , 66 , 71 ]. Studies also reported on the different types of incentives that were provided to encourage school participation, including financial resources through grants and provision of time for health promotion work through substitute coverage [ 32 , 34 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 51 , 52 , 61 , 66 , 71 , 72 , 74 , 76 ].…”

“…However, there were challenges to supporting this type of exchange, such as lack of resources [ 39 ] and collaboration, coordination and communication [ 35 ]. Engagement in and success of exchange opportunities in HPS generally may also be influenced by individual factors, such as teacher motivation, professional learning and discretion, or personal interest [ 38 , 41 ]. However, some studies suggest that, HP implementation levels, perceived HP impact and HPS efficacy of teachers are higher when there is increasing participation and system support [ 74 , 75 ].…”

Schools for Health and Sustainability

“…Similarly, evaluation research from Norwegian health promoting schools indicates that the proposed relationship between health and educational outcomes motivated educational staff to adopt, implement and sustain the health promoting school Viig et al 2010 ). Similarly, evaluation research from Norwegian health promoting schools indicates that the proposed relationship between health and educational outcomes motivated educational staff to adopt, implement and sustain the health promoting school Viig et al 2010 ).…”