A comprehensive whole‐school approach has emerged as a promising model for building connectedness in the school setting. The health‐promoting school model, through its…
Abstract
Purpose
A comprehensive whole‐school approach has emerged as a promising model for building connectedness in the school setting. The health‐promoting school model, through its whole‐school orientation and attention to the school organizational environment, identifies structures and processes that influence school connectedness. This paper aims to investigate this model.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the key mechanisms of health‐promoting school structures and processes, as well as the pathways of their influence on school connectedness, by using a qualitative case study methodology in three school communities in southeast Queensland, Australia. In‐depth interviews, focus groups, observations and documentary evidence provided the data.
Findings
Key elements of the health‐promoting school model that facilitated interactions between school community members were events that were characterised as positive, social, celebratory, and with no financial cost, as well as informal gatherings that involved food or events with communal eating. Through these interactions, mutual reciprocal relationships were developed. School community members began to learn about and understand one another's positive qualities, which in turn promoted additional aspects of school connectedness. The key elements and pathways of the health‐promoting school approach were supported by factors such as informal teaching, reinforcement, adequate time for relationships to develop, and being embedded within the whole‐school orientation. The results of this study are used to formulate a theoretical model of how the health‐promoting school approach builds school connectedness.
Originality/value
These findings are important because they provide insight into the central role of food in the school culture and how it links other key elements and factors that can be implemented in the school setting to build connectedness.
Details
Keywords
School connectedness, or a sense of belonging to the school environment, is an established protective factor for child and adolescent health, education, and social well‐being…
Abstract
Purpose
School connectedness, or a sense of belonging to the school environment, is an established protective factor for child and adolescent health, education, and social well‐being. While a comprehensive, whole‐school approach that addresses the school organisational environment is increasingly endorsed as an effective approach to promote connectedness, how this approach creates a sense of belonging in the school environment requires systematic in‐depth exploration. This paper aims to address these issues
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the influence on school connectedness of a whole‐school approach to promote health in school, using a qualitative case study method. Three school communities in Southeast Queensland, Australia, are investigated as case studies in order to formulate a theoretical model of how health promotion approaches can build school connectedness.
Findings
This study finds that a health promotion approach builds school connectedness by encouraging a “whole‐school” orientation designed to foster interaction among members of the entire school community. Specific activities that promote interaction are school‐wide activities involving the entire school community and, at the classroom level, “whole‐class” activities in which students and staff work together on activities that create links between the two groups, such as collaborative curriculum planning. The “whole‐school” emphasis on partnerships between staff and students and parents is also important, particularly with its focus on initiating and sustaining school‐community partnerships.
Originality/value
The findings are important, since they validate a whole‐school approach to building school connectedness and address an important gap in the literature about how to promote school connectedness and thereby protect the well‐being of children and adolescents.
Details
Keywords
Fiona Rowe, Donald Stewart and Shawn Somerset
Schools are widely accepted as having the potential to make substantial contributions to promoting healthy eating habits in children and adolescents. This paper aims to present a…
Abstract
Purpose
Schools are widely accepted as having the potential to make substantial contributions to promoting healthy eating habits in children and adolescents. This paper aims to present a case study from an Australian school of how a whole‐school approach, planned and implemented through a health promoting school framework, can foster improved nutrition in schools by creating a supportive environment for healthy eating habits.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach was used to investigate the influence of a health promoting school approach on improvements to nutrition in the school environment. Data were collected using in‐depth interviews, student focus groups and documentary evidence, such as school planning documents and observations of health promoting school activities.
Findings
This study illustrates how initiatives to promote a healthier school environment increased demand for nutritious food in the school community, which in turn impacted the supply of these foods at the school tuckshop. The study provides insight into the key factors that facilitated these changes in the school, both internally, in terms of organisational change processes within the school, and externally, through support from a health promotion agency. The study also illustrates the centrality of educational leadership in the school context, even in an area typically identified as a “health” issue.
Originality/value
This paper presents qualitative research identifying organisational processes that instigate change in the provision of nutritious foods within the school environment.
Details
Keywords
Melinda Thomas, Fiona Rowe and Neil Harris
The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that characterise effective school‐community partnerships that support the sustainability of school health initiatives applied…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that characterise effective school‐community partnerships that support the sustainability of school health initiatives applied within a health‐promoting schools approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used an explanatory case study approach of five secondary schools participating in a health‐promoting school programme, “The Logan Healthy Schools Project” in Logan, South‐East Queensland, Australia to investigate how school‐community partnerships support the sustainability of school health initiatives. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 16 deputy principals, school staff members, and community‐based partners, along with observations and a documentary analysis of Logan Healthy School Project activities. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data.
Findings
The factors that characterise effective school‐community partnerships that support the sustainability of school health initiatives include: a focus on building relationships between school and community partners, complementary capacities of school personnel and service providers, commonality of intent and shared goals between both parties, and competence of practice, primarily of the community service provider. These four factors were consistent at the school operational level and strategic programme co‐ordination level of the Logan Healthy Schools Project, yet varied in importance across the initiation, growth, and maturity of the school‐community partnerships.
Originality/value
The study adds to the limited body of knowledge that surrounds effective school‐community partnerships and how the features of these partnerships contribute to the sustainability of school health initiatives. The study highlights the importance of initiating, growing, and maintaining school‐community partnerships and provides insight into the factors that should be considered when planning and developing school health promotion initiatives.
Details
Keywords
Fiona Rowe, Donald Stewart and Carla Patterson
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to demonstrate the contribution of whole school approaches embodied by the health‐promoting school approach, to the promotion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to demonstrate the contribution of whole school approaches embodied by the health‐promoting school approach, to the promotion of school connectedness, defined as the cohesiveness between diverse groups in the school community, including students, families, school staff and the wider community.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross‐disciplinary review of literature was conducted to identify strategies consistent with the health‐promoting school approach and the values and principles that promote school connectedness. The review included peer‐reviewed articles and published books and reports identified from the databases spanning the education, health, social science and science disciplines and used search terms encompassing health and mental health promotion, schools, social connectedness, belonging and attachment. The paper is also a framework of the contribution of the health‐promoting school approach to promoting school connectedness and was developed drawing on health promotion strategies at the broader community level known to foster connectedness.
Findings
The paper found that the framework developed illustrates how the health‐promoting school approach has the potential to build school connectedness through two major mechanisms: inclusive processes that involve the diversity of members that make up a community; the active participation of community members and equal “power” relationships, or equal partnerships among community members; and supportive structures such as school policies, the way the school is organised and its physical environment, that reflect the values of participation, democracy and inclusiveness and/or that promote processes based on these values.
Practical implications
In this paper the detailed mechanisms outlined in the framework provide practical strategies for health promotion practitioners and educators to use in the everyday school setting to promote school connectedness.
Originality/value
This paper draws together substantial bodies of evidence and makes a persuasive case for the contribution of the health‐promoting school approach to building school connectedness.
Details
Keywords
Fiona Yan-yan Wong, Keith Kin-lung Wong, Paul Chi-wai Lam, Lok-yan Chin and Cheung-tim Fung
This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward recovering citizenship (RC)/5 Rs and mental illness of people aged ≥18 years in Hong Kong using a telephone survey…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward recovering citizenship (RC)/5 Rs and mental illness of people aged ≥18 years in Hong Kong using a telephone survey approach.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire comprised the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS), Short Form-Community Attitudes Toward Mental Illness (SF-CAMI) and questions on attitudes toward RC/5 Rs, was administered on the phone.
Findings
A total of 1,009 respondents completed the telephone survey. A high mean score of MAKS (4.37 ± 1.08) was found with 68%–94% answering the knowledge items correctly. The mean score of SF-CAMI was 46.50 ± 8.74 with the most positive attitude toward fear and exclusion. Approximately half had heard about a similar concept of RC and 79%–94.3% agreed with people in recovery to possess the 5 Rs. Those with greater knowledge or more positive toward mental illness, or knowing someone in recovery were more supportive toward 5 Rs. Those aged 18–44 years, attained a post-secondary education, were employed, and received a monthly income of US$3,861–6,434 were significantly more positive toward 5 Rs.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study assessing the views of RC of people in the community. The sample had a good knowledge of mental illness but recognition of recovery from mental illness and a sympathetic view toward people in recovery can be further improved. Besides promotion programs, dissemination of the concept of RC and having people in recovery take up valued roles in the community could potentially facilitate the acceptance of social inclusion and acceptance in the community.
Details
Keywords
Chris Hallinan and Steven Jackson
This chapter adopts a reflective approach exploring and setting out the contrasting factors that led to the establishment of the subdiscipline in both countries. The factors…
Abstract
This chapter adopts a reflective approach exploring and setting out the contrasting factors that led to the establishment of the subdiscipline in both countries. The factors included the role of key individuals and their respective academic backgrounds and specialisations within each country’s higher education system. Furthermore, attention is given to the particular circumstances in a case analysis comparison of the oldest programs in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia. This sheds light upon the factors linked to the disproportionate success profile for the sociology of sport in Aotearoa/New Zealand. An analysis of scholars and programs within each country reveals important differences aligned with the politics of funding and the variety and extent of systematic structures. Additionally, scholars’ specialisations and preferences reveal a broad offering but are primarily linked to globalisation, gender relations, indigeneity and race relations, social policy, and media studies. This work has been undertaken variously via the critical tradition including Birmingham School cultural studies, ethnographic and qualitative approaches and, more recently by some, a postmodern poststructuralist trend. Lastly, along with a brief discussion of current issues, future challenges are set out.
Details
Keywords
Matevž Matt Rašković, Fiona Hurd and Theresa Onaji-Benson
The purpose of this paper is to provide a scene-setting viewpoint that critically examines various diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) blind spots within the field of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a scene-setting viewpoint that critically examines various diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) blind spots within the field of international business (IB). These include issues such as social justice, intersectionality, de-colonization, the co-creation of inclusive research practices in indigenous spaces, social dialogue and the gap between DEI rhetoric and reality. An additional aim of the viewpoint is also to contextualise the discussion of DEI blind spots in terms of the six papers which make up the first part of a two-part special issue on DEI in IB".
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build on existing DEI overview works and comment on specific DEI blind spots. The authors also discuss the role of positionality as critical reflexive scholarship practice, which they see as an essential step in problematizing structural inequalities. The authors then discuss six specific areas where DEI blindspots persist within the IB literature and link their discussion to the six papers included in the first part of their DEI special issue.
Findings
Addressing the contradictions between the business and social justice cases for DEI requires addressing the ontological contradictions between the two perspectives through problematizing structural inequalities. A key contribution of the paper is also the discussion around positionality in DEI research and the relevance of positionality statements as part of critical reflexive scholarship in support of a socially just DEI research agenda.
Originality/value
The authors discuss the role DEI research plays and can play within the evolution of the IB discipline. The authors apply a critical management studies perspective to pervasive DEI issues, as well as engage with the topics in the special issue through a unique critical reflexive epistemology which includes their own positionality statements as guest editors and researchers. Their critical discussion and recommendations for future research serve as a kind of whetstone to sharpen IB’s DEI research tools and in turn for IB to help sharpen DEI research’s tools, supporting it to become more socially just.
Details
Keywords
The research asked: How do daughters take the lead in their family businesses? What are the relevant issues that characterize the succession process for daughters, what are the…
Abstract
Purpose
The research asked: How do daughters take the lead in their family businesses? What are the relevant issues that characterize the succession process for daughters, what are the attributes of daughter successors, and what, if any, features distinguish their leadership style?
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research comprised reflective interviews with 14 daughter successors. Thematic data analysis was used to analyze data, build models and link to previous research.
Findings
The shifting landscape of women's roles in family businesses is evidenced through the experiences of daughters who have taken over the top leadership positions in their family firms. Skill and commitment override gender in successor selection. The women were intrinsically motivated to take over their family businesses and owned significant shares in their firms. The findings confirm the centrality of the successor‐incumbent relationship and reveal mentoring, frequently by the incumbent, as the principal vehicle for the transfer of business leadership. Emotional competence emerged as a key successor quality.
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on a single perspective, that of the successor. The accounts may include elements of performance, that is, selection of content based on the audience and the participant's desired results.
Originality/value
The paper provides an alternate view to female invisibility in the family business, and the practice of primogeniture. This is new research on succession and women's roles in family business.