Research for Today’s Society:	 
Social Sciences and Humanities
A Research Resource Base for Health Promoting Schools
Professor Kanako Okada
Training Division for School Health Nursing (Yogo)
Teachers, Faculty of Education

Backgroundacademics from the Faculty of Education.

Health promoting schools (HPS), also known as “healthyschools,” are schools whose ongoing development as a healthy

Results from this researchschool is an inherent part of their operations, which can thenAfter participating in seminars and visiting health promoting

form the basis for those schools to become centers forschools in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, we

promoting health in their local community.

came to feel strongly that there was a need for a document along

The range of health and well-being issues affecting schools

the lines of a comprehensive HPS checklist, and we haveand local communities has diversified in recent years. Thesedeveloped such a checklist which, by going through theissues include children and teachers’ physical and mental health,different HPS elements described on the list, makes it easy topeople’s psychological responses to security incidents anddetermine if a school can be described as “healthy” or not. We

natural disasters, and the impact of certain patterns of use of theare currently also preparing specific examples for inclusion ininternet and mobile phones. Instead of this diverse range ofthe schools’ PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) cycles, along withissues being tackled in isolation from each other, a more holistic

other forms and models they can use.

approach will be required to identify them, and they will require	  We presented these results at a symposium at the East Asian

measures that are characterized by a firm order of priority. HPSInternational Conference on Teacher Education Research inare an attempt to build comprehensive, organized bases in

December 2010, and we are also presenting them atcommunities

andsymposiums and research seminars which we are holding forpsychological aspects of people’s health. HPS are also ateachers to promote HPS (the first was held in February 2011,program that the WHO is promoting strongly.

and the second is scheduled for November 2011). For more	  Pupils, teaching staff, parents and guardians, local residents

information go to http://chiba-hps.org/about.

thatencompass

bothsuchphysicaland specialists work together at health promoting schools toprovide health education for the children, who represent thefuture heart of the local community, as well as for parents andguardians and local residents. HPS also develop specific actionplans concerning the school and community environment, suchas banning smoking within the school and planting grass areasin the schoolyard, along with measures to reduce stressexperienced by children and teachers.

Prospective developments	  At present, however, each individual HPS is acting under its	  While developing support programs for particular healthown endeavors. That demonstrates the need for a strong

promoting schools in Japan, we are also in the process of

research resource base both for Japan and other countries that

constructing HPS models. In addition, we will be sharing

promotes HPS, and we have launched a research project to that

information with other countries, which we hope will come toend with the participation of a diverse range of specialist

serve as an international resource base.