School Health Promotion at the Time of COVID-19: An Exploratory Investigation with School Leaders and Teachers
Open Access
- 2 October 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
- Vol. 11 (4), 1181-1204
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe11040087
Abstract
The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the entire school population’s emotions and the disruption of the organization of the school world. In this context it is important to reflect on the role of health promotion at school. The present study aimed at exploring school leaders’ and teachers’ perspectives and experiences about COVID-19 pandemic and its effects in the school and education system. The first objective was to gather the experience of school leaders regarding the change in school organization, with particular attention to organizational and health promotion aspects. The second was to investigate the perception of health promotion and self-efficacy of teachers in primary, middle and high schools. The research was conducted using qualitative (focus groups for the school leaders) and quantitative methods (questionnaires for the teachers). The findings showed new ways of improving wellbeing at school and implementing health promotion through the sharing of good practice between school leaders. The need for time and space to reflect among school leaders on the educational and didactic aspects of school organization also emerged. Teachers showed a low to medium level of self-efficacy regarding the adoption of strategies in line with health promotion; specificities for each grade and level will be discussed.Keywords
Funding Information
- Health Promoting School Network, Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per la Lombardia, Regione Lombardia, Italy (CUPF85F21001300005)
This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit:
- The COVID-19 Cost of School Closures in Earnings and Income across the WorldComparative Education Review, 2021
- Supporting every school to become a foundation for healthy livesThe Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2021
- COVID 19 – school leadership in disruptive timesSchool Leadership & Management, 2020
- Taking a distributed perspective on leading professional learning networksSchool Leadership & Management, 2019
- Health Promoting Schools—a complex approach and a major means to health improvementHealth Promotion International, 2017
- Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (Scala sull’Auto-Efficacia del Docente – SAED): adattamento e validazione in ItaliaJournal of Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies, 2014
- Making Room for Qualitatively-Driven Mixed-Method ResearchQualitative Health Research, 2014
- Tensions and dilemmas in leading Australia's schoolsSchool Leadership & Management, 2012
- A validity and reliability study of the coping self‐efficacy scaleBritish Journal of Health Psychology, 2006
- The immediate psychological and occupational impact of the 2003 SARS outbreak in a teaching hospital.2003