Education Canada Discussion Guides and Kits are an EdCan Member Exclusive Benefit for Organizations (School Districts, Faculties of Education, Corporations, Non-Profits), transforming evidence-based literature from our critically-acclaimed Education Canada Magazine into practical group discussion and self-reflection guides that can be used by K-12 staff to question, strengthen, and improve their professional practice across a variety of current and emerging trends in education.

Education Canada Discussion Kits are an EdCan Member Exclusive Benefit for Organizations (School Districts, Faculties of Education, Corporations, Non-Profits), transforming evidence-based literature from our critically-acclaimed Education Canada Magazine into practical group discussion and self-reflection guides that can be used by K-12 staff to question, strengthen, and improve their professional practice across a variety of current and emerging trends in education.

The resource is designed to support school and school authority leaders in enriching their school authorities’ mental health and well-being continuum of supports and services through Comprehensive School Health approach.

The “System Leadership in Healthy Schools” series aims to empower school system leaders to improve a wide variety of outcomes, maximizing student and staff well-being. This Podclass: Electives series is brought to you by the Canadian Healthy Schools Alliance, a network of organizations on a mission to promote health and well-being in school communities across Canada.

The Canadian Healthy School Standards aim to spark conversations and be a tipping point where the school community comes together to elevate wellbeing in schools. It was prepared for people who are interested in advocating for, initiating and strengthening healthy schools across Canada. You can use this resource as a checklist with which to chart your healthy school journey, or in a non-linear fashion, as you need it.

The guide is intended to support and inform school authority leaders in collaborative conversations, resulting in the development of a school authority plan leading to support for implementation of a comprehensive and integrated approach to workplace wellness.

This book outlines the successes that the European Network of Health Promoting Schools have seen over the past several years. It provides a foundational background information on implementation and evaluation.

This resource outlines UNESCO’s new strategies for supporting education through health and well-being. It reflects growing international recognition of the inter-relationship between education and health, which necessitates a more comprehensive approach to school health and coordinated action across sectors. This new strategy reflects increased awareness of the importance of investing in adolescents.

This booklet outlines how to deal positively with common mental health problems among teachers. The document seeks to provide advice to people dealing with individuals experiencing common mental health problems.

This resource highlights the key learnings and successes of several institutions in the Western Pacific region of the WHO who have implemented health promoting schools.

This fact sheet summarizes the current state of First Nations education in Canada, including enrolment, opportunities, areas for improvement and strengths. Although it is from 2012, much of it is still relevant today.

This paper summarizes a conference of youth in Canada that took place early in 2020 to outline their vision for the future of education in Canada. The youth participants identified the following recommendations for their 10-year vision for the future of public education, in which their right to a quality education is respected:

1. Create national curriculum standards

2. Create national standards for teacher-training

3. Make key curriculum updates (Arts, Life-skills, Technology, UNCRC, Modern Jobs, Health)

4. Foster cultural respect and address social barriers

5. Provide a wide variety of educational opportunities

6. Offer free access to resources in schools (contraceptives, toiletries, menstrual products)

7. Ensure schools are safe and accessible

8. Enhance opportunities to learn multiple languages

9. Decrease class sizes

10. Enhance community participation within schools

11. Demonstrate respect and support for our educators

This policy statement provides an overarching structure encompassing existing, ongoing and developing work in the education system in Ireland. The vision and ambition of the Department of Education and Skills in relation to Wellbeing Promotion sets out to ensure that by 2023:

• The promotion of wellbeing will be at the core of the ethos of every school and centre for education,

• All schools and centres for education will provide evidence-informed approaches and support, appropriate to need, to promote the wellbeing of all their children and young people,

• Ireland will be recognised as a leader in this area

This paper summarizes the work that PHE Canada did to test one Health Promoting School approach. The objective of the case study was to capture the experience of the New Brunswick HPS Pilot. Lessons learned from this experience can inform schools (or other stakeholders) in other parts of the country that might be interested in mounting their own HPS initiatives.

This paper summarizes the work and presentations of the ACHPER conference from 2015. Several individual papers are included that highlight the importance of physical and health education for fulsome development of children and youth.

This paper explores an Indigenous approach to quality learning environments and relevant competencies/skills.

It focuses on select work from People for Education and draws out the research, concepts and themes that align with Indigenous determinants of educational success. This paper also expands on this work by offering perspectives and insights that are Indigenous and authentic in nature. The three sections that frame and further develop this textual/symbolic journey are:

• Section One: Indigenous Issues, Indigenous Pedagogy And Educational Interconnections

• Section Two: Reflections On The Four Domains And Their Proposed Competencies And Skills

• Section Three: Embracing Indigenous Worldview And Quality Learning Environments

The purpose of this Charter are:

1. Guide and inspire action by providing a framework that reflects the latest concepts, processes and principles relevant to the Health Promoting Universities and Colleges movement.

2. Generate dialogue and research that expands local, regional, national and international networks and accelerates action on, off and between campuses.

3. Mobilize international, cross-sector action for the integration of health in all policies and practices, thus advancing the continued development of health promoting universities and colleges.

This White Paper details the insights of presenters and participants at the Third International Symposium in November 2016, and describes the work of the broader global research community on leadership well-being and work–life balance. This document is intended to promote discussion among policy-makers and system and school leaders, and support the work of professional associations.

This document was developed in response to changing educational environments as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It highlights different ways and strategies to incorporate well-being into PHE classes and beyond.

This document outlines People for Education’s goal and plan for defining a framework to measure equitable access to education in Canada. This work is ongoing.

The review of evidence covers mental health, aggressive behaviour, healthy eating, physical activity, substance use and misuse, driver education, and peer approaches. The report shows that effectiveness of different types of programmes varies. School-based programmes that promote mental health, healthy eating and physical activity are amongst the most effective, while programmes on preventing substance use, and suicide are among the least effective of school health promotion programmes.

This paper reviewed 12 studies to find effective interventions of the WHO Health Promoting Schools Framework for students aged 11-18 years. Additional research is required to determine best practices for partnerships within the framework.

This paper outlines the Core and Essential Conditions required to successfully implement CSH. The purpose of this research was to identify the essential conditions of CSH implementation utilizing secondary analysis of qualitative interview data, incorporating a multitude of stakeholder perspectives.

This article provides a review of CSH and discusses its four essential elements:

1. Teaching and learning

2. Social and physical environments

3. Healthy school policy

4. Partnerships and services

It also provides a common understanding of the implementation and broader benefits of CSH, which, in addition to health, include student learning and self-esteem. The article further discusses some complexities of a rigorous evaluation of CSH, which comprises proof of implementation, impact and positive outcome. Rigorous evaluation is urgently needed to provide a stronger evidence base of the benefits of CSH for learning, self-esteem and disease prevention.

This paper looked at the positive ways that CSH influences students’ lives in home environments. Researchers interviewed grade 5 and 6 students and highlighted the important role that student leadership plays in success.

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of the principal in the implementation of a CSH project aimed at creating a healthy school culture. This research provides recommendations to help establish effective leadership practices in schools, conducive to creating a healthy school culture.

This paper examined a number of studies that look at the benefits of later school start times on adolescence (13-19 years old). It concluded that more research is needed, but later start times may lead to positive benefits for students.

Meet the the Canadian Healthy Schools Alliance and discover how they are supporting you, your district and your students! The Alliance is a national network of like-minded organizations aiming to create system-level change to better support school communities.

This infographic gives educators, policy makers and school leaders a clear way to communicate the role of schools in supporting student wellbeing and how it links to overall success and achievement.

A summary from a user-centred design process with the guiding question “how might we co-create a set of insights and ideas that will inform the design of quality, free PHE resources that meet teachers’ diverse needs?”

Why and how K-12 system leaders must move beyond one-off interventions, programs, and professional development towards an approach where mental health and wellbeing is integrated in the core mandate of public education.

In Advancing Wellbeing in Schools, WellAhead shares 15 lessons about education, philanthropy and systems change learned through a 2015 experiment in ways to better integrate wellbeing into K-12 education.

In Advancing Wellbeing in Schools, WellAhead shares 15 lessons about education, philanthropy and systems change learned through a 2015 experiment in ways to better integrate wellbeing into K-12 education.

This research brief highlights findings from a comprehensive review of the evidence on effective approaches in promoting teacher and school staff wellbeing.

This research highlights the essential conditions necessary for taking a comprehensive school health (CSH) approach. Explore this webpage to view publications sharing the research and an infographic summarizing findings.

An infographic, research briefs, and whiteboard videos highlighting universal strategies to prevent problematic substance use by enhancing student well-being.

Created by school administrators, for school administrators, with the support of mental health professionals and Ministry of Education staff.

CASSA has curated this list of COVID-19 related school resources, shared and developed by its members. Links include learning and home resources for parents, re-opening resources, and more.

This guide shares critical elements for districts’ mental health and wellbeing efforts, including checklists for each condition and what you might do to strengthen your capacity and strategy.

Designed to promote positive mental health perspectives and practices in the school context. This toolkit has been divided into a series of online modules to present manageable, user-friendly information and materials.