June 15, 2021
Letter from the chair of the research group
Dear colleague,
Thank you for your participation in Friday’s RG meeting. It was so nice to hear many voices and see familiar and new faces - even online. Special thanks to all who presented and/or were leading the discussions. Big thanks to Jesper, who also took care of technical and practical issues.
I have gathered here key activities that are ongoing and where you are invited to contribute:
- Working teams: As discussed in the meeting, we have established seven working teams and created them a temporary platform (Teams) for collaborative working. In the meeting, we got fantastic news from Anette: after long (several months) intensive discussion with the IT-persons and Google, we have now received email addresses for each of us (@she-research.org), which are needed to be able to work in Google Suite, a platform for the whole RG and especially useful for working teams. We will send more information on this issue in the following weeks. If you don’t belong in any working team yet, and would like to, please, send an email to Marjorita.
- Funding applications and joint publications: Please, go to Padlet (find the link in the email sent today) and write your suggestions in it, as well as comment others’ suggestions. We hope to be able to form a group for funding call(s). You can also show your preliminary interest in joining the funding/publication groups in Padlet.
- VERY important! Please, give your evaluation for the meeting from the link you have received. It only takes 2-3 minutes and is necessary for external evaluation purposes.
We will send the minutes of the meeting to all. Don’t forget to go and check also the presentations and other materials in SHE website. There are already a nice photo from our meeting and many presentations.
Have a good week and let’s keep in touch!
Best wishes,
Marjorita
May 11, 2021
Election of new SHE board
Each year, the SHE Board is re-elected following an election action in the group of national and regional coordinators. This year, there were three seats available - and three candidates were running. Therefore, we can announce the re-election of Nina Grieg Viig (Norwegian National Coordinator) and Tineke Vansteenkiste (Belgian National Coordinator) as board members, and we welcome a new substitute member of the Board: Gemma Cox (Welsh National Coordinator). Congratulations to Nina, Tineke and Gemma - we are very happy to have you on board!
May 7, 2021
Dates for SHE Academy 2021
The SHE Academy 2021 takes place from 13th to 15th October 2021. The theme is mental health in schools.
The SHE Academy is a unique opportunity to critically discuss research methodologies, analytical perspectives and dilemmas from practice in an international learning environment, with input by leading scholars and experts from the field of school-based health promotion and education. The course is free of charge and will take place online.
See the first announcement.
November 30, 2020
Team Up & Think Big! – Heading for robust R&S-Partnerships for future Projects
Dear Researches and Colleagues, especially from the SHE RG,
I am heading for robust partnerships for collaborative Research-Projects and R&S-Applications.
Please find below on the very next projects to start for which reliable partners are sought. Thus, this kind invitation for cooperation goes out to you!
Please feel free to contact me with sending an email incl. the project(s) you`d like to contribute/team up to: katharina.wirnitzer@ph-tirol.ac.at
From Science 2 School: cross-sectional
(1) „From Science 2 School: Sustainably healthy – active & veggy“ going int./Europe -> eg. ERASMUS
(2) „From Science 2 School: Sustainably healthy – active & veggy“ going global -> min. 1 partner at each continent
From Science 2 School: mixed method, clinical setting performed at small cohorts & matched samples
(1) From Science 2 School 2.0, AT -> maybe multi-center in AT, or maybe partners for a Lead-Agency application with 2 or more partners etc., as well as int./global
From Science 2 HighSchool/University: cross-sectional (website under construction)
Seamlessly continued from From Science 2 School
(1) „From Science 2 HighSchool/University“ Austria nation-wide at tertiaer level
(2) „From Science 2 HighSchool/University“ going int./Europe -> ERASMUS (optimal would be same partners as for From Science 2 School)
(3) „From Science 2 HighSchool/University“ going global -> min. 1 partner at each continent (optimal would be same partners as for From Science 2 School)
Review of national Curricula: primary, secondary, tertiaer ecducational levels
(1) Review of national Curricula considering specific keywords of health, eg. HE, HL, HP but also like diet/nutirtion, PA, sports & exercise incl. PE, mental health, etc. (EU member states, members of WHO Europe/SHE Network) -> ERASMUS-application or other
Link to website: From Science 2 School: Sustainably healthy – active & veggy
Contact SHE research group member Katharina Wirnitzer for further information.
October 14, 2020
More news about the election for the SHE board
Each year, a substitute member for the SHE board is elected by the national coordinators. As only one candidate applied within the nomination deadline, Suzanne Hargreaves are elected for the next one-year periode. Congratulations!
October 12, 2020
Meeting on research exchange, 10-11 November
Austria invites you to an international 2-day meeting and research exchange on November 10 & 11 2020: "Improving Child & Adolescent Health for better Public Health".
The aim is to bring together researchers and stakeholders to introduce completed research projects as well as new research ideas that address the complex challenges and needs of child & adolescent health for future collaborative projects in order to apply for national and international grants.
Sign in at latest October 23, and tell if you want to contribute with a short talk/pitch. Use link for Abstract submission.
Please find a brief outline with preliminary program (contents, schedule) here, and contact Katharina Wirnitzer from SHE's research group (Austria) for more information.
October 7, 2020
A new SHE board
The SHE Board is the body in charge of the SHE Network Foundation and supports the SHE secretariat, overseeing the progress and functioning of SHE between assemblies.
This year, the seats of Ivana Pavic Simetin (Croatia) and Veronica Velasco (Italy) were up for election. Both of them wanted to continue the work and as no other candidates applied within the nomination deadline, Ivana and Veronica are both elected for a new two-year periode. Congratulations!
October 2, 2020
Invitation to SHE research group meeting
Dear members of the SHE Research Group
It is our pleasure to invite you to the 2020 SHE Research Group Meeting. We will start the meeting on Wednesday, 28 October at 11:00 (CET) and finish on Thursday 29 October at 12:00 (both times CET). Exact times are Wednesday 11:00-17:30 and Thursday 9:00-12:00.
The meeting will be held in Zoom (online meeting platform). The link and the instructions will be sent to participants via email before the meeting together with the final agenda. If you wish to attend the meeting, please, sign up by October 15.
The agenda consists of themes below, among others:
- SHE RG current and future issues
- COVID-19 in relation to health promoting schools
- Physical activity in the schools
Kind regards,
Marjorita and Kevin
(chair of the SHE research group)
June 26, 2020
Online meeting was a success
The SHE research group (RG) had an online meeting on 11th June with participation of 46 researchers. Even we were not able to meet face-to-face, an online meeting was a good substitute. It was great to see so many happy faces, especially after a long spring with lots of uncertainty.
Our aims for the meeting were:
1) to provide an update for the RG members about the SHE RG ongoing and future activities (2020),
2) to provide a forum to meet (virtually) and exchange views and thoughts related to school health research, RG activities, and current situation (COVID-19), and
3) to launch the RG working teams activity.
You can read more about the meeting and view the materials here at the SHE website.
June 10, 2020
Webinar 22th June 2020: Health Promotion Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education will 22 June 2020 give a webinar: Health Promotion Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The speaker is Stephan Van den Broucke (Vice-Dean of the Catholic University of Leuven and Vice-President for Scientific Affairs of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education).
Time: 18.00 – 19.00 (CEST).
Language: English
Use the zoom link.
April 19, 2020
Research in the time of corona
Dear colleagues,
Another week starts soon in our countries which each confront the current situation from own cultural perspectives and different policies but also have much in common. Each day brings news; some countries are reopening their functions slowly while some continue having strict restrictions. As we wrote previously with Ulla, SHE has postponed some of its activities, as well as changed some of its ways of working. No-one can predict what autumn will bring.
A while ago a group of us were talking about how the SHE network can contribute to this situation, which has affected our schools a great deal. Not only thinking schools as physical places but everything beyond that: social relationships, safe environment, support, collaboration, etc. Even we have heard also positive stories about remote learning, especially from families where the child has been previously bullied at school and now is relieved to stay at home, most children would like to go to school. Not to mention parents and teachers who – at least here in Finland – have coped the situation, but not without struggle.
So – what can the SHE network do – and following that, what can the SHE research group do? SHE researchers have already taken action during this period. For example, Leena and Orkan have published a comment paper about COVID-19 and health literacy. It is an open-access publication that is linked also to the SHE website. Kevin, Orkan, and their colleague Katharina have launched a survey for university students about digital health literacy, which has now grown international. These are good news and tell that the SHE research community is active also during difficult times.
It would be great to hear also others’ news and initiatives. This research group consists of over 90 researchers, who all share the common interest and are interested to hear new ideas and suggestions. If you have an idea related, for example, to crisis preparation or post-crisis activities and school health promotion, or something else that you would like to share or even ask others to join, e.g., starting to write funding application or writing a (statement/comment) paper or collecting data, just send a note! Please, visit also 2019 RG meeting presentations, where Maria presented her topical research about post-disaster context and adolescents’ perceived health.
It is important to generate knowledge and prepare our network for the future. I have opened a platform for us to share our activities, ideas and thoughts. The platform (Padlet) has been divided into four separate environments; it is easier to discuss there than via email. Contact me if you need access to the padlets. The themes are:
- Ongoing research activities.
- Sharing your ideas and thoughts and, perhaps, invite others to work with you with a specific idea.
- A place for informal communication, sharing stories, chatting with each other, exchanging news.
- A special platform for those who have expressed their interest earlier to join in a SHE RG working team.
We will come back to these issues also in our June webinar/ RG online meeting, which details will be sent to you in May (the date is June 11th).
From today’s One World: Together at Home -concert / Global Citizen & WHO: “For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today” – African Prover
Take care,
Marjorita Sormunen, chair of research group
April 2, 2020
News from the SHE Research Group
Despite changes to the 2020 workplan, the SHE research group continues to work and meet targets. Online meetings have a bigger place in our lives and key face-to-face meetings have been postponed. Empirical research at schools has slowed down and schools are now prioritising essential work with children and young people. Some countries continue to have open schools either partially or full time whilst other have closed schools completely. Research group members who also teach, are currently facing the need for implementing innovative digital practices. There is also an increased need to encourage students to work and follow their schedule as much as possible, to motivate them, and to keep them informed.
Despite this drastic situation worldwide, we commend the ability of our members to continue to work together, sharing thoughts, and planning the future. We are in the process of establishing a series of webinars within the next few months and will keep you informed.
March 23, 2020
Call for papers to The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is currently running a Special Issue “Interventions to Enhance Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children”. Assoc. Prof. Scott Duncan and Dr. Tom Stewart, from Auckland University of Technology, Prof. Rachael Taylor, from University of Otago; are serving as guest editors.
This Special Issue seeks papers describing interventions and initiatives designed to encourage physical activity (including active play), reduce sedentary behavior, and/or promote healthy eating in children. Priority will be given to new and innovative approaches to engage children and their caregivers in home, community, and/or educational environments. Also high-quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses are welcomed.
For further reading, please follow the link to the special issue website.
The submission deadline is 30 June 2020. Manuscripts should be submitted through the online manuscript submission and editorial system at http://susy.mdpi.com. For further details on the submission process, please see the instructions for authors.
March 1, 2020
New dates in October for the SHE research group meeting
Due to the corona situation in Europe, the SHE research group meeting in Finland in June 2020 is postponed. The SHE research group meeting will instead take place on 28-29 October. Meeting venue: Helsinki, Finland. Please wait for a reniewed invitation before signing up.
January 11, 2020
A new book: "Social Theory and Health Education"
This book is soon to be published. Many colleagues from SHE have written a chapter. It fulfils the gap we have on using social theory in research on Health Education and Health Promoting Schools. The book draws together research that demonstrates the productive and impactful ways social theory can be applied to the diversity of research in this field. Topics like digital health, and health education in sexuality, gender and health, food and nutrition, mental health and wellbeing, environment, and alcohol and drug use is covered. Have a look.
January 7, 2020
The Journal: Health Education calls for papers for a special issue on „Leadership in school health promotion“
The submission deadline is 15 May 2020.
Guest Editors are Kevin Dadaczynski (Fulda University of Applied Sciences/Germany), Monica Carlsson (Aarhus University/Denmark) and Qing Gu (UCL Institute of Education/UK). They welcome contributions that show current research on top-down and bottom-up leadership styles and its determinants and effects on different aspects on school health promotion (e.g. implementation, individual health). Read more about the call.
December 15, 2019
News from the SHE Research Group
The aim of the SHE research group is to support the development of school health promotion and health education in the WHO European region by stimulating, facilitating, coordinating, upscaling and initiating theoretical and empirical research. This means that this group is an ideal first point of contact in generating and sharing knowledge which could be implemented in schools and used as a basis in decision-making processes. As of the beginning of 2020, short descriptive profiles of the SHE research group members will be added to the SHE website. This will ease contact to a relevant SHE researchers and expert in the area of school health promotion and health education – feel free to contact of the researchers!
October 16, 2019
SHE Research Group Meeting 2020
The next research group meeting will be held in Helsinki, Finland, on 10-11 June 2020. All members of the research group will recieve information about the meeting and how to apply in February 2020.
October 15, 2019
Update and overview of collaboration from the chair of the research group
The steering group (Karina, Simon, Teresa, Emily, Kevin, Marjorita, Venka) have met three times in 2019 (February (Skype), June (Face-to Face – Reykjavik), September (Face-to-Face – Hamburg) with minutes from each member distributed to group members.. The steering group is an ideal platform for discussion and decision making.
The chairs of the RG (Kevin and Marjorita) and a member from SHE secretariat (Jesper) meet monthly to work with SHE RG issues.
The annual RG meeting was held in Reykjavik in June 2019 with a central aim of collaboration. The one-day meeting included an update from the SHE secretariat and a discussion of the current ongoing challenges in the SHE RG, a Capacity Building Workshop and a joint workshop with assembly participants regarding the four SHE tasks. SHE RG members also had an opportunity to participate in the morning program of the HBSC meeting.
Upcoming Events
- SHE Academy - Lyon 2019, 29 participants.
- Presentation of SHE RG to the EECA RG meeting in Moscow October 2019. Jesper (SHE secretariat) and Electra (national coordinator, Greece) will participate.
- 5th Conference on Health promoting schools, Moscow, November 2019. Attendance by SH****E members is important and colleagues should be mobilized to participate. Participants can register here. After registration an official invitation can be used to enable a smoother visa procedure. For information on visas, all participants should use this form. Approximately, 190 participants are currently registered for the conference. Participants are advised to book accommodation as soon as possible due to challenges the conference hotel. The scientific program has been published, all keynote speakers are organized and all sessions have chairs.
September 6, 2019
Invitation to The Fifth International Conference on Sexuality and Sexual Education: Interaction, Interdependence and Intersectionality
The Research Centre on Child Studies (CIEC), of the University of Minho in Portugal, will be hosting the fifth International Conference on Sexuality and Sexual Education: Interaction, Interdependence and Intersectionality, November 28-30, 2019. Get all information about the conference.
This is the fifth Conference of a sequence that is held, alternately and biannually, in Portugal and Brazil, in the institutions that house a group of researchers working collaboratively in research on Sexuality and Sexual Education and that constitute the network responsible for this Conference: University of Minho (UM), University of Lisbon (UL), University of Aveiro (UA), School of Education of Coimbra (ESEC), Paulista State University "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP), State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC).
The purpose that unifies the realization of these Conference is the study of Sexuality as an interdisciplinary theme that unfolds in several areas of investigation and intervention, among them Sexual Education. In this context, the Fifth Conference focuses on a theme that reflects one of the main current issues in sexuality and sexuality education, assuming as a central concern (re) thinking the ways of conceptualizing, working and investigating the Interaction, Interdependence and Intersectionality of social relations in this area.The target-participants are Researchers, Education Professionals (Early Childhood Educators, Teachers trainers, Secondary Education and Higher Education), Health Professionals, Students attending Courses in the fields of Education, Sexuality and Health, Psychologists, Sociologists, among others.
July 11, 2019
Greetings from the chair og the SHE research group
Dear members of the SHE research group
The RG meeting was held with crisp and mostly sunny weather in beautiful Iceland. As RG members, we had an opportunity to participate in the HBSC workshop and presentations before the RG meeting begun. This collaboration highlighted the joint ground we are working together. Thank you, Jo and Simon, for this great opportunity! Thank you also, Patricia and Catriona, for presenting your work in the HBSC pre-workshop, and Maria, Mads, and Rafaela for presenting in the RG meeting. These presentations will make our work visible to others as well as give inspiration and help to find out possible common interests.
See the Minutes of the research group meeting and all presentations.
To all of you, who were participating in the meeting by various ways: your input is valuable for the further development of the RG, and of course, for the current activities that we have ongoing quite a bunch! For those of you who could not be present, please find information about the meeting from the attached summary. The next RG meeting will be held in Helsinki, Finland. Hope to see you there next year and in many other events before that.
If you have not added your information to the working document about your interest in belonging to a working group, writing joint publication(s), or research proposal(s), please, do so. You will find the link by clicking HERE. At the beginning of August, we start to summarize the information and continue working toward establishing concrete groups. The document stays open so that you are able to view and add to it any time. Currently, 18 of you have indicated your interest, and we wish to have many more!
You can also still add your future ideas to answergarden. The word cloud will be shared with you, and also through social media. If you have already answered and don’t wish your answer to be visible (anonymously), please, send us a note. In that case, we will remove your words from the cloud.
For now, we wish you all a relaxing summer holiday and after that a productive and inspiring working period again. We will be in touch with you through emails and SHE newsletters.
Please, visit the SHE website and social media accounts regularly for updates!
https://www.schoolsforhealth.org/
https://www.facebook.com/SchoolsHealthEurope/
https://twitter.com/SHE__network
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4874245/
Kind wishes, Marjorita & Kevin
May 22, 2019
Invitation 27 / 28 / 29 May 2019
As part of the dissemination of the European project Co-Creating Welfare, the French partner team are organising 3 half-days of training, during which participants from the education, social and welfare sectors will be able to discover a co-creative approach. You will have the opportunity to experiment with co-creation tools and activities, and explore their relevance to promote health and well-being through various participatory workshops. The underlying aim is to promote the integration of co-creation and co-creative processes into their professional practices. Co-creation is one of the pillars of participatory approaches which promote democratic processes, ownership and empowerment. Se the flyer.
May 22, 2019
13th UIA Associations Round Table Europe
Monday 4 November 2019 a round table arrangement take place in Brussels. Each participant has the opportunity to design his or her own programme with elements from 23 case studies, interactive questions and answers and workshops.
The day is arranged by UIA (The Union of International Associations), an independent non-profit research institute founded in 1907 which documents and promotes the work of international associations. UIA shares its information on associations through its publications: the Yearbook of International Organizations, and the International Congress Calendar. UIA also promotes the work of associations by organizing educational activities, such as the UIA Associations Round Table. Find more information here.
May 4, 2019
Meet the HBSC study group
SHE's research group is having a meeting in Iceland, June 19.-20. 2019 and at the same time HBSC (Health Behaviour of School Children) is having a meeting close by and this gives a great opportunity for some exchange. In consultation with Jo Inchley there will be two parts on Wednesday 19 June from 9 to 12:30. First a workshop of Simon Murphy and Chris Roberts (9 to 10:30) and then a presentation of school-based research. If you are member of the SHE research group and want to attend the workshop and give or listen to presentations, please contact Kevin Dadaczynski (co-chair of SHEr research group).
May 1, 2019
Submit your abstract for the 5th European Conference on Health Promoting Schools
The abstract submission for the 5th European Conference on Health Promoting Schools is now open: https://www.conftool.pro/she2019/.
The conference takes place in Moscow, Russia, from November 20 - 22, 2019. Read more about the conference: http://sheconference2019.org/
April 9, 2019
Conference: Promoting Health and Wellbeing in Educational Settings.
This conference takes place in Ireland, hosted at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway on Thursday 13 June, 2019. Registration closes on 21 May. Read about the conference. https://nuigalwayhprc.clr.events/event/127927:annual-health-promotion-conference
April 5, 2019
Invitaton to the SHE Academy 2019
Do you have an interest in school health promotion and want to know more about research methods in school health promotion? There are special workshops for researchers and for ph.d.students in the Academy. Sign up for the SHE Academy (4-6 November 2019) - see the invitation.
March 4, 2019
Call for papers on health literacy
Public Health Panorama calls for the submission of papers for a special issue on health literacy in the WHO European Region. The special issue (issue 3) will be published in September 2019 to coincide with the 69th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.Deadline for submission: April 15, 2019. Read more.
March 3, 2019
SHE Research Group Meeting 2019
The invitations for the 2019 SHE Research Group Meeting has been sent out for all members of the research group. Once a year the group meet and discusses isues connected to research in school health promotion. This year the meeting will take place 19 - 20 June 2019 in Reykjavík, Iceland. The meeting will start on Wednesday 19 June at lunchtime and finish on Thursday 20 June at lunchtime (from noon to noon).
The meeting venue is:
The University of Iceland
School of Education
Stakkahlíð
105 Reykjavík
February 18, 2019
Call for Abstracts to Special Issue
The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) will be editing a Special Issue on “Health Literacy and Equity—Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Recent Trends in Health Literacy Research and Action Around the World”. The Call for Abstracts is now open and the editor group are ready to receive abstracts on the latest research, practice and policy research. Submision of abstracts by 30 April to the Editorial Office (bonnie.wang@mdpi.com) under the subject heading “IJERPH Health Literacy Special Issue.” For more information see the call for abstracts document attached to this E-mail or visit the journal's homepage.
February 5, 2019
New research steering group
In the renewing process of the SHE and the SHE research group, a new steering group (formerly referred to as a core group) has been formed. It consists of seven persons: In addition to chairs Marjorita Sormunen and Kevin Dadaczynski, it includes Venka Simovska, Teresa Vilaca, Emily Darlington, Karina Leksy, and Simon Murphy. Following the period of the chairs of the research group, the period of involvement in the new steering group will be three years. The steering group coordinates and facilitates the work of the research group in collaboration with SHE secretariat and the SHE Board.
January 11, 2019
1st letter from the chair of the SHE research group
Dear Members of the SHE Research group
This is the first ‘official’ letter from us to you all since our chair positions started at the beginning of 2019. From now on, we will post our news in the SHE bi-monthly newsletters, so if you have not signed up to receive a newsletter, please do so here. In addition to newsletters, we will contact you via email to communicate on internal RG issues if needed, mostly because of specific notifications or tasks. You will find also RG information and news on the SHE website.
The main task of the chair is to create and sustain a research community with meaningful activities, collaboration opportunities, and initiatives, and to coordinate corresponding activities of the SHE RG. Even though Marjorita as the chair has a primary responsibility to keep things running, we have not defined separated tasks or responsibilities between the chair and the co-chair. All things that need to be done, are realized in close collaboration together and both of us are fully aware of all RG issues. Hence, either of us can be contacted of any matters related to the RG.
We have started to work on several issues related to the RG. Firstly, the planning of the year 2019 (and 2020) has started, and we can already say that this year includes many activities. These include e.g., the next RG meeting and a capacity-building workshop, a short inquiry to find out the RG members’ current research fields, settings, and theories in use, and the annual SHE Academy. We also inform you that the 5th European conference on Health promoting schools will be held in Moscow in November 2019; more detailed information will be announced later on.
A new core group will be formed in the near future. It will be renamed as a steering group and will include 3-4 members (+ Marjorita and Kevin). We are in the process of checking and fine-tuning the tasks of the steering group and will inform you soon more about the formation. Furthermore, the SHE RG membership form requires some and the position paper a more throughout revision (based on workshop comments from Copenhagen & Moscow). This “paperwork” has already started.
We warmly thank Venka for her solid leadership and work that she has done for the SHE RG in past years. We also thank the core group for their engagement in the RG activities.
In closing this email, we would like to encourage you working together with us to create a flourishing and dynamic research network on school health promotion and education. Please share your ideas, thoughts or concerns in order to allow an open discussion about the development of our research group. We wish all of you a productive, pleasant, and a happy New Year with lots of energy in working towards healthier schools together!
Kind regards,
Marjorita and Kevin
(chair of the SHE research group)
