The Health Promoting School – International Advances in Theory, Evaluation and Practice

Citation

Young, I. (2006), "The Health Promoting School – International Advances in Theory, Evaluation and Practice", Health Education, Vol. 106 No. 4, pp. 330-332. https://doi.org/10.1108/he.2006.106.4.330.2

This substantial publication (>500 pages) presents an important collection of papers. It is edited by Stephen Clift, Professor of Health Education at Canterbury Christchurch University, England and Bjarne Brunn Jensen, Professor of Health and Environmental Education at the Danish University of Education, Copenhagen.

The publication is true to its title: it does effectively cover many of the issues of theory, practice and evaluation of the phenomenon that is known as the health promoting school. The theoretical perspective is well represented by stimulating contributions from Keith Tones, Emeritus Professor of Health Education at Leeds Metropolitan University and Derek Colquhoun, Director of Research at The Institute of Learning at The University of Hull. Professor Tones is one of the most experienced theoreticians in health promotion globally and it is fitting that he starts this volume as the book attempts to have a truly international perspective. It largely achieves this with contributions from Europe, Australasia, South Africa and North America.

In the development of health promoting schools there has been an extra‐ordinary level of international co‐operation and partnership working. One chapter from authors in Switzerland and Germany exemplifies this by exploring the development of a mental health promotion resource entitled Mindmatters which is being adapted from an Australian initiative. European perspectives are particularly well represented in the collection and this reflects to an extent the degree of development of the health promoting school movement in Europe.

The idea that the whole life of a school, not only the learning and teaching in the classroom, but can also promote the health of young people is not new. It has historical origins that go back at least 100 years with the introduction of school meals in the early twentieth century followed by legislation on school health services. The modern concept of health promoting schools was born in the early 1980s and much of this work was started in England at The University of Southampton and in Scotland by the Scottish Health Education Group, with support from The European Office of The World Health Organization. Unfortunately there is a confusion in the book between the starting point of the European Network of Health Promoting schools in the 1990s with the starting point of the modern concept of health promoting schools which was created earlier in the mid‐1980s. However, that is one small criticism in a publication that is looking forward and it is true that the modern concept of health promoting schools has evolved and has a greater emphasis on equity, pupil participation and democracy than the earlier 1980s version.

An attractive feature of the book is that it includes contributions that discuss the reality of international and cross‐cultural initiatives without attempting to gloss over the potential problems. For example, the paper by Professor Katherine Weare from Southampton University explains how concepts such as autonomy, choice and decision‐making were somewhat problematic principles for participants in a Russian project. Such insights are invaluable to anyone involved in designing or implementing research and development initiatives in any country as they remind us that our basic assumptions at a conceptual and practical level need to be tested before proceeding.

Since the health promoting school is interested in the health of all school users not only the young people attending school, but it is also important that a range of voices are heard on the subject of health and well‐being in schools. The book achieves this very well with several papers exploring the viewpoints of the students but also the perspectives of teachers, parents, doctors and nurses in various sections. The theme of student involvement and in the development of their action competence is explored in papers by Bjarne Brunn Jensen and others.

The editors and authors are to be congratulated in producing a coherent volume that will be invaluable to a wide range of readers including post‐graduate students, teachers, health promoters, and education and health policy makers. This book is timely as policy makers in both the health and education sectors seek evidence that health promotion in schools can make a difference to the health and well‐being of young people and all school users. It may not answer all their questions but it makes a very important contribution to that debate. Health promotion in schools is evolving fast, this book is important reading if you need to keep up to speed with health promotion in schools, partnership‐working and international developments.