What is it?
Adopting a whole-school approach within a comprehensive school health framework involves implementing health promotion principles in the school setting. This may require a shift in focus. The task changes from an emphasis on fitting education about health-specific issues into the school’s program to making the school operate in a way which enhances the health and wellbeing of its students and staff. For instance, rather than relying solely on a drug education program to teach children how to make healthy choices, the whole-school approach encourages the school itself—its structures, policies, procedures and staff—to operate in a healthy way and thereby both model and promote “health.”
Whole school programs address a variety of protective factors that help build resilience, the ability to bounce back from adversity. These programs do not focus on "fixing" the youth but aim to change the school environment and actively engage the youth in the learning process. Although many of these school programs have components that address individual competence, their main focus is on changing the culture of the school to encourage greater school attachment and involvement, both of which have been shown to reduce alienation not only from the school but also from the dominant values of the larger society (Tobler et al., 2000).
A whole-school approach requires educators and partners to be continually addressing health matters in a way that enhances the health and wellbeing of students and staff. For example, in a health-promoting school, staff meetings, parent advisory councils and inter-agency meetings may become forums for discussion on health issues that concern the entire school community, such as poor nutrition and other obstacles to student success. Discussions might involve plans to create a healthy breakfast program or steps for implementing a student welfare program.
Level of research support: Strong evidence of effectiveness
Why do it?
Health and education are interdependent. Studies worldwide have demonstrated that the health of students and teachers as well as the environment in which they operate impact academic performance, teacher morale and absenteeism. This led to the concept of the health-promoting school as "one that constantly strengthens its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working" (WHO).
While most of the research on health initiatives in schools has focused on single components such as curriculum, a growing body of evidence suggests that combined strategies produce better results (Stewart-Brown, 2006; Vince Whitman, 2005). A large US study found that the most important factors in reducing risk behaviours were students feeling connected to their school community and to caring adults within it (McNeeley et al., 2002). In particular, whole-school approaches emerged as being among the most promising school-based programs to reduce the harms related to substance use (Peters et al., 2009). While their impact can be further increased through the inclusion of family or community components, they can be effective even when limited to what is internal to the school setting.
Who is it for?
Who can facilitate it?
How can we implement it?
Creating a school that enhances the health and wellbeing of students and staff requires applying a health lens to all of the school’s structures, policies, and programs. Becoming more intentional and considering the effect any action will have on school health is an important step in adopting a whole school approach. For instance, when developing a new policy, key questions should be: will this policy increase, or decrease school connectedness? what impact will it have on the healthy development of students?
A whole school approach involves attention to three interconnected areas for action that address students’ needs for:
And, to do this requires attention to an additional set of inter-related areas for action.
All of these areas for action support a whole school approach and the following promising practices are strategies to help implement them.
Sources and related material