Implementation of Municipal Health Promotion Interventions in Primary Schools: Teachers' Perspective

Author(s):

Lone Nordin(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2011

Network:

21. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

ERG SES H 01, Parallel Session H 01

Paper Session

Time:

2011-09-13

14:00-15:30

Room:

J 25/10,G, 25

Chair:

Fiona Hallett

Contribution

This paper discusses the findings from a qualitative research aimed at exploring teachers' attitudes and opinions in relation to health education in schools, and their views on organizational factors which promote or inhibit implementation of municipal health promotion interventions in schools. The research is linked to a local health promotion project in a municipality i Denmark,focusing on strengthening school health education through targeted actions to involve pupils in healthy eating and physical activity. The project is funded by The Danish School of Education, Aarhus University and Ministry of Science.

Theoretical framework of the research is shaped by the discourse of critical health education, characterized by emphasis on holistic health,pupil participation and action competence. This approach is also reflected in the ministry’s objectives and provisions for health education in primary schools in Denmark as outlined in the national curriculum guidelines for health education.

The underlying hypothesis is that there is a gap between the conceptual ground in the guidelines and policy on the one side and the health education practice on the other side. The study aims to understand this gap by exploring teachers' attitudes, opinions and competences related to health promotion and health education, as well as organizational factors influencing teachers' practice. To test this hypothesis I use Mains theory about teachers' teaching practice, and Greens precede-proceed model which explains how organizational factors influence teaching practice.

The teacher is the fundamental agent in school health programmes, and research confirms that there is an association between teachers' conceptions of teaching and their teaching practices. In Denmark every primary school teacher can be appointed to teach health. However, many teachers do not have formal skills or prior experiences with health education. For some teachers, participatory health education is in contradiction with their regular teaching practice.

Against this background, the objectives of the study include:

to explore how interventions focusing on food, physical exercise and action competence are implemented in the everyday school practice of health education
to explore teachers' attitudes, opinions and competences in relation to health education: specifically food, physical activity and action competence
to explore organizational factors which influence educational change

Method

The research belongs to the qualitative research genre embedded within the social constructivist methodological framework. The research is designed as a collective case study, which is instrumental case study extended to several cases. The case is of secondary interest, and the purpose of the case is to understand, explain and theorize the phenomenon common to all the cases - in this research the teacher’s attitudes, opinions and competences related to health education and their views on organizational factors influencing educational change. Data generation methods include: focus group interviews with teachers and pupils, semi-structured interviews with the project leader, document analysis and observation. The analytic framework is inspired by Kvale's understanding of the interview in a phenomenological-hermeneutic reference frame. As basis for the analysis is used "creation of meaning through ad-hoc-methods", and subsequently the meaning of the text is highlighted through three different interpretive contexts: (a) self-understanding (b) critical common sense and (c) theoretical understanding.

Expected Outcomes

The paper discusses preliminary findings from the first level of analysis. In relation to implementation of school health promotion intervention the findings show that teachers' interpret the objectives of the intervention as related to both education and health outcomes. This is sometimes confusing and interfering with their teaching practice. Involving pupils in meaningful ways showed to be particularly challenging. Teachers prioritize subjects such as mathematics or Danish, and these subjects have a priority in their planning. Most of the teachers have not received appropriate professional development in relation to the implementation of the national guidelines for health education as a cross-curicular subject. Organizational factors such as support from the school management and other school staff, recourses in terms of time and capacity building, and adequate guidance and collaboration with the municipality are found to be of importance for successful implementation of interventions. Last but not least, teacher involvement in planning rather than only in implementation of the interventions seems to be an important element in implementation.

References

Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S., and Giardina, M. D. (2006). Disciplining qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. vol. 19 (6), pp. 769 – 82. Fullan, M. (2001). The new meaning of educational change. NY. Green, L. W., Kreuter, M.W. (2005) Health program planning. An eductonal and ecological approach. NY. Jensen, B B. (1995): Concepts and Models in a Democratic Health Education. I: Jensen, B.B (ed.): Research in Environmental and Health Education. Research Center for Environmental and Health Education. The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, 1995, pp. 151-169 Jensen, B B. (1997). A case of two paradigms within health education. Health Education Research. 12 (4) s. 419-28. Osford University Press. Kvale, S., Brinkmann. S. (2008) Interview. Introduktion til et håndværk. Hans Reitzels forlag. Kbh. Leger, St L. (2000) Reducing the barriers to the expansion of health-promoting schools by foucing on teacher. Health Education. Vol 100. no 2. 2000. pp. 81-87. Muijs, D., Cambell, J., Et Kyriakides, L. (2005) Making the case for differentiated teacher effectiveness. An overview of research in four key areas. School effectiveness and school improvement, 16 (1), 51- 70. Paakkari, L., Tynjälä, P., Kannas, L. Student teachers ways of experiencing the teaching of health education. Studies in higher education. 2010, 1-16, iFirst Article. Stake, E, R (2005) The art of case study research.Sage Publications.Inc. Viig, N.G., Wold, B. Facilitating teachers participation in school-based health promotion – a qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Reseach. Vol. 49, NO. 1, February 2005, pp. 83-109.

Author Information

Lone Nordin (presenting / submitting)

The Danish School of Education. Aarhus University

Didactic

Snekkersten

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