Presentation
Schools carry out numerous activities daily that help promote the health and well-being of students, families and communities. There is clear evidence of the benefits that the health promoting schools (EPS) approach provides not only to improve the comprehensive health results (physical, mental and social) of the educational community, but also to obtain better learning results. The closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted this role of schools and the close link between health, well-being and education.
In recognition of this potential, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund have been promoting the EPS initiative has been going on for decades, with the purpose of educational systems visualizing the various possibilities of promoting the health and well-being of the educational community as a whole, and acquiring a leading role in its approach. The EPS initiative involves planned, systematic, participatory, multidimensional and articulated work between the educational community and other institutions in society (health services, local governments and other organizations).
The evaluation of the initiative in the world, and particularly in the Region of the Americas, has made it possible to define recommended guidelines that guide the process of transformation of educational establishments. Based on these standards, practices and evidence, this guide presents the conceptual and methodological contributions that facilitate each school to progressively become EPS in the Americas.
The term “health-promoting school” is used here to name establishments at all levels of schooling (initial, primary and secondary) that apply a comprehensive approach aimed at promoting health and academic performance in their communities, taking advantage of the organizational potential of schools to promote good physical, socio-emotional and psychological fitness, which will contribute to improved health and positive educational outcomes. Although this concept may take different names in some countries or localities (healthy schools, healthy educational environments, etc.), it is applicable to all initiatives to promote health and well-being in the school environment that seek to implement a comprehensive and multicomponent.
It is expected that this guide will contribute to both educational establishment personnel, health personnel and other personnel related to schools, reinforcing their motivation, recognizing each of the components of the initiative and promoting its application, adapted and recreated according to the characteristics of the respective contexts.
Goals
General objective
- Facilitate the implementation of the EPS initiative in educational establishments at all levels (initial, primary and secondary) with a comprehensive approach, in accordance with the WHO and UNESCO Global Guidelines and Indicators, and within the framework of the Strategy and action plan on health promotion in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals 2019-2030 and the Action Plan for the health of women, children and adolescents 2018-2030.
Specific objectives
- Introduce the conceptual and operational bases of the EPS initiative and encourage the motivation of the teams that coordinate its implementation.
- Provide conceptual and methodological tools that allow the EPS initiative to be promoted in a critical and contextualized way.
Who is this guide for?
This guide will be useful for all personnel working in initial, primary and secondary educational institutions, including management, teaching, school psychology and auxiliary and administrative staff, among others. It will also serve professionals from different sectors (education, health and social development, among others) whose activities are linked to health and well-being in educational institutions at all three levels.
How to use this guide
The guide includes a conceptual section and a methodological section. The first describes the conceptual bases of the benefits of promoting health at school, the EPS initiative, its definition, characteristics and components. The second deals with the methodological aspects of the implementation of EPS, which include the recommendations, requirements and steps that must be followed by the school team in charge of starting the process. It also includes a section with examples of activities for the EPS school team and another with didactic activities for the students, according to the educational level, which will allow the EPS work plan to be designed in a participatory way, calling for the participation of family members, service members health and other relevant local actors in each community.
It is suggested to read the conceptual section first and then the methodological section. It should be noted that the examples included correspond to only some of the activities that can serve as a basis to be adapted and recreated in each context, according to the needs of the educational communities with which we work.