Schools for Health and Sustainability ─ Theory, Research and Practice

Schools are unique places. They pay a central role in the formation of young people. The importance of how young people are educated and how they are encouraged to live and learn cannot be underestimated. This book advocates for the fostering of agency not only amongst school personnel but also amongst younger generations for health and sustainability. It provides the reader with a new lens with which to discover health promoting schools and education for sustainable development. It invites the reader to look more deeply into both and to accompany the authors on a journey of discovery of the real potential for each to enhance the practice of schooling.

Venka Simovska, PhD, Professor and Director of the Research Programme on Learning for Care, Sustainability and Health at the Department of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark. Professor Simovska also leads the newly established Research Centre on Schools for Health and Sustainability at the Department. She is chair of two international research networks: Schools for Health in Europe (SHE) Research Group and Health Education Research (network within the European Association of Educational research (EERA). Simovska has authored and co-authored a number of books, book chapters and Journal articles within the field. Most recently, she has guest edited two special issues of Health Education focusing on Processes and Outcomes of Health Promoting Schools.

Patricia Mannix McNamara, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Education in the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences at the University of Limerick, Ireland. She is Co-Director of the Research Centre for Education and Professional Practice (RCEPP). Patricia has expertise in both health and education and has authored and co-authored books, book chapters and journal papers spanning both fields. She has been a national evaluator for ENHPS since 1999 and is a core group member of the Schools for Health in Europe (SHE) Research Group.