Children’s Self‐documentation and Understanding of the Concepts ‘Healthy’ and ‘Unhealthy’

The present paper describes a study in which 13 children aged 9–11 years, of diverse ethnic, linguistic, and socio‐economic backgrounds, were asked to use a digital camera and small notebook to document the range of things they consider to be healthy and unhealthy. Using open‐ended interview questions, the children were then asked to explain each item, including what it was, why they chose it, and why they thought it was either healthy or unhealthy. The range of definitions of ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ invoked by the children was surprisingly broad, encompassing not only illness and proper nutrition, but also environmental health, mental health, cleanliness, and other meanings. Findings across all 13 children are displayed, and a case study of one child serves as a detailed example of the types of meanings children ascribe to the words ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’, as well as the kinds of analyses being employed on these data. The theoretical implications of these results for research on children’s ideas about health, as well as implications for the design of health interventions, are discussed.     

Transforming schools: illusion or reality?1

This paper explores the claim that appropriately trained heads can motivate teachers and students to achieve challenging targets and transform the prospects of future generations. Theory derived from the leadership literature is tested against the experience of three headteachers in the field. Case study evidence is used to examine how Hillside School was improved. Applying recommended styles, the heads won the commitment of their colleagues and built the capacity for further progress, despite adverse circumstances that included social disadvantage. Although the ‘turn around’ was achieved quickly, the interpersonal styles adopted by the heads were only part of a leadership repertoire that included beliefs, values, professional knowledge and micro-politics. Variations in the combination of context, leaders and followers seem to have been more significant than the common elements emphasized by the school improvement literature and national training programmes. OfSTED reported that the school's effectiveness was greatly enhanced. Test and examination results were more or less unchanged, however, confirming recent studies that have found little evidence of leadership impact on student outcomes. This supports the suggestion that intake mix may influence results more than the organizational characteristics shaped by heads. The paper concludes that while leadership training may improve school climate, a transformation in performance is unlikely.     

Active agents of health promotion? The school's role in supporting the HPV vaccination programme

By providing a place in which children can be accessed, the school has long been a site for population-level health initiatives. Recent policy shifts towards health-promoting schools have however re-cast the school from passive host to active collaborator in public health. This paper examines secondary school teachers' views of their roles as partners in Scotland's human papilloma virus vaccination programme. Focus groups were held in seven schools across Scotland. Confusion was evident in relation to this role, with competing understandings of young women's sexuality, concerns about parental perceptions and uncertainty about professional responsibilities. Many teachers sought to distance themselves from the vaccination programme. Evidence was found of a ‘sedimentation of discourses’, as mass models of state-sanctioned health intervention persist alongside contemporary discourses of individual choice.