Participatory planning and health promotion in Brazilian schools

SHE (School for Health in Europe Network Foundation) defines participation as one of our pillars, as well as empowerment and democracy as core values of our policies. But is this approach only used in Europe? No, certainly not. Let us present Luciana Santos Collier, a PhD in Bioscience and Health Teaching, from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. She participated in the SHE Academy 2019 in St. Etiénne and she tells us how Brazilian Physical Education (PE) teachers often use participatory strategies in their classes. The aim is to enable students to experience diverse manifestations of body culture, reflect and analyze social, political, economic, historical, biological and cultural aspects related to body practices, use different school spaces during the classes, effectively participate in the planning and contents of the classes.

While working as a PE teacher in a public school in Brazil, she developed a participatory research, which involved students from the seventh grade of elementary school to the third year of high school, who attended PE classes in the last 5 years. She has been collecting narratives and class diary records to assess the students' progress in understanding the concepts and practices of physical education related to health promotion.

Read her article about participatory planning and health promotion in schools.

See her powerpoint presentation.