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Online platforms can support health and educational professionals in their daily work; however, it is challenging to keep online platforms sustainable. This paper aims to indicate the most important factors of platform sustainability from the perspective of professionals involved in online platforms. Further, it aims to understand how these factors operate. A mixed methods study was carried out among professionals from Europe, Australia, the USA and Canada. In the first phase, the importance of 54 factors from the literature was assessed with a questionnaire among 17 professionals. The relative importance of the factors and the consensus regarding this importance were calculated using median scores and interquartile deviations. In total, 19 factors were selected representing general characteristics, characteristics related to the platform, communication, visitor and context. In the second phase, insight was gained regarding the experiences with those factors through 12 individual Skype interviews. The most frequently mentioned important factors of platform sustainability were (i) having sufficient time, resources and expertise, (ii) user friendliness and (iii) creating a sense of belonging. Platforms should use a planned approach to address a combination of factors directly from platform development. Gaining long-term resources is challenging and should be considered from the start of a project by building partnerships. To promote user friendliness, platforms should be simple, have a clear set-up and provide high-quality tools. Finally, establishing a sense of belonging could be supported by branding and face-to-face networking activities. For all aspects, involving visitors and stakeholders is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the ways in which the setting approach to health promotion in schools, as part of knowledge-based international policies and guidelines, is embedded in the Danish policy landscape and enacted at the local governance level. The study draws on the sociology of translation and treats policy implementation as a non-linear process of (re)interpretation involving different actors in plural, mutually interwoven, non-hierarchical networks. Data were generated and analysed using a three-tiered process: the first tier focused on key international guidelines, the second on national policies, and the third on policies in selected municipalities. Through these tiers, we discuss actors and actor networks involved in the translation processes, their interactions and the dynamics of problematisation at the national and local levels. The results point to two different, but entangled, processes of translation. At the national level, despite resistance by a number of actors with differing priorities, the translation resulted in the integration of selected key principles of the setting approach to health promotion in the national curriculum for health education. At the municipal level, however, the principles seem to be 'lost in translation', as the treatment of schools as settings for promoting health and well-being remains largely subordinate to the discourses of disease prevention and individual behaviour regulation, dominated by the agenda of actors in the health sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss issues that are rarely (if ever) talked about in research: experiences of deep insight and inspiration, of meaning-making, of embodied passion and of excitement related to the practice of engaging in qualitative research and of being a qualitative researcher. These are the 'aha' moments or 'eureka' experiences. Drawing on Frigga Haug's collective memory work, five individual memories were articulated as text and analysed collectively over a period of six months. By analytically deploying the concept of generativity, we portray the tensions, dynamics and interactions that (co)create aha moments and movements as a way of enacting situated research(er) agency and of challenging the neoliberal instrumentalization of research and researchers. Our aim is to contribute to visualizing and fostering small but powerful steps in innovative, good quality research and bringing desire and passion (back) into research practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perspectives and approaches to health and wellbeing education vary considerably over time and space even as certain contextual and critical features may be maintained. Through an analysis of a range of studies published in the Journal of Curriculum Studies, we illustrate what unites as much as divides various positions taken by their authors through a focus on which assumptions they proceed from, those they may seek to problematise, and which they try to rework through their scholarship. Our analysis centres on two key questions: (a) the critical question of health education, and (b) the question of critical health education. To advance our analysis, we draw on insights from critical literature review techniques and the need to problematise research topics and assumptions that frame and guide their selection and investigation. Key outcomes include six thematic categories and the key parameters for identifying various degrees of light and shade to the criticality within these studies, including their thresholds. We conclude with a reflection on the significance of determining the object of critique during curriculum studies, and the continuing need to inquire into, rather than bypass, what counts as critical in health and wellbeing education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we discuss principals' perspectives on the priority given to the place in the curriculum of and the supporting practices related to health and sustainability education in schools in Denmark (for pupils aged 6-16). The study is situated within the discourses about critical health and sustainability education and treats the two issues as societal challenges that are important to address in schools as educational examples. We draw on the literature on school leadership challenges linked to global neoliberal trends in educational reform. The context of the study is the ongoing school reform in Denmark. The data were generated through an online survey of principals in Denmark (n = 118). The findings show that although the principals view school as an important arena for health and sustainability education, their actual support for such education lags behind. Health education is prioritized somewhat more than sustainability education; however, both are characterized by insufficient attention to teachers' professional development and the low prioritization of collaboration within the school and between the school and community actors. Acknowledging the contradicting demands that principals face in the context of the reform, we argue for reconnecting the concept of leadership with the wider purposes of schooling and for providing space for an emergent, whole-school curriculum that addresses health and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the significance of the concept of participation for teacher meaning-making processes in education for sustainable development and health education. In Scandinavian public schools, education for sustainable development and health education focus on a wide palette of societal problems rather than on narrow curricula. Drawing on selected reviews of research literature on education for sustainable development and health education, Lacanian psychoanalysis provides inspiration for our analysis of the concept of participation, and how it is positioned and enacted in these fields of practice. Essentially, we argue that the concept of participation has a dual nature: it serves both as an educational ideal and as a teaching strategy. We also explore how the failure to achieve the ideal of 'true' participation may serve a positive purpose for the teacher; the acknowledgement that participation is not always as genuine as desired establishes a pedagogical situation where ideals of engaging pupils through true participation can continue to exist side by side with clear signs of a less consequential participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the findings from a study mapping out the priorities, policies and practices of local authorities concerning health promotion (HP) and health education (HE) in primary and lower secondary schools in Denmark. The aim of the study was to identify the gaps, tensions and possibilities associated with the demand to increase the quality and effectiveness of HP in schools. The recent national school reform, which emphasizes the importance of health and well-being while simultaneously increasing the focus on performance and accountability in terms of subject proficiency and narrowly defined academic attainment, provides the broader political context for the study. Data were generated through a structured online survey administered to all 98 Danish municipalities. Respondents were educational consultants or others representing the administrative units responsible for the municipality's schools. The findings were discussed within the conceptual framework of Health Promoting Schools. The study points to a potential tension between the health and education sectors, despite evidence of intersectoral collaboration. While there is a strong policy focus on health and well-being in schools, it is disconnected from the utilization of the HE curriculum by the municipal consultants. The study also points to a lack of professional development opportunities for teachers in the field of HP in schools. On the basis of these findings and theoretical perspectives used, we argue that HP in schools needs to (re)connect with the core task of the school, education, and to integrate both health and education goals in local priorities, policies and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines teachers' experiences with and opinions on a web-based, cross-cultural project. Students from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Macedonia, and Sweden used information and communication technology and international collaboration to explore the links among youth, culture, and the use of alcohol. The data was generated through interviews with the teachers co-ordinating the project in each of the classes. The teachers' experiences with the approach as a whole led them to emphasize that the action-oriented and participatory approach, combined with the use of information and communication technology and international collaboration, brought new, valuable perspectives to their own teaching and to their reflections about emerging new roles and teaching skills needed. The provisions for genuine student participation, authenticity in learning, intrinsic motivation, and the sense of the other were identified by the teachers as the main strengths of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the sexuality education curriculum in primary and lower secondary schools in Denmark. Taking inspiration from the 'what is the problem represented to be?' approach to policy analysis, we explore how discourses of risk, health, quality of life, sexual diversity and critical pedagogy simultaneously permeate curriculum policy and contribute to the production of particular subjectivities among pupils and teachers. Over time, changing national curricula have moved towards greater centralisation with increased attention paid to learning outcomes rather than to wider educational ideals. An analysis of the current curriculum reveals three sidelined discourses: discourses on pleasure and erogeneity; discourses on LGBTQ+ issues; and discourses on ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. The Danish national curriculum on sexuality education produces two contrasting subject positions: on the one hand, the uninformed pupil in need of protection and, on the other hand, the empowered, responsible and agentic student. Postmodern and critical approaches to sexuality education risk eliminating room for certain subjectivities while opening up space for new forms of agentic norm critical subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this systematic review was to summarize systematically the existing evidence for the effects of student participation in designing, planning, implementing and/or evaluating school health promotion measures. The focus was on the effects of participation in school health promotion measures rather than on student involvement at school in general. Participation is a core value for health promotion but empirical evidence of its outcomes is scarce. We searched major bibliographic databases (including ASSIA, ERIC, PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed and the Social Sciences Citation Index). Two reviewers independently decided about inclusion and exclusion of the identified abstracts (n = 5075) and full text articles. Of the 90 full text articles screened, 26 papers met the inclusion criteria. We identified evidence for positive effects, especially for the students themselves, the school as organization, and interactions and social relations at school. Almost all included studies showed personal effects on students referring to an increased satisfaction, motivation and ownership, an increase in skills, competencies and knowledge, personal development, health-related effects and influence on student perspective. Given that student participation has more been discussed as a value, or ideal of health promotion in schools, these findings documenting its effectiveness are important. However, further research is needed to consider the level or intensity of involvement, different approaches and stages of participation in the health promotion intervention, as well as mediating factors such as gender, socio-cultural background or academic achievement, in a more systematic manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During cancer treatment children have reduced contact with their social network of friends, and have limited participation in education, sports, and leisure activities. During and following cancer treatment, children describe school related problems, reduced physical fitness, and problems related to interaction with peers.Methods/design: The RESPECT study is a nationwide population-based prospective, controlled, mixed-methods intervention study looking at children aged 6-18 years newly diagnosed with cancer in eastern Denmark (n=120) and a matched control group in western Denmark (n=120). RESPECT includes Danish-speaking children diagnosed with cancer and treated at pediatric oncology units in Denmark. Primary endpoints are the level of educational achievement one year after the cessation of first-line cancer therapy, and the value of VO2max one year after the cessation of first-line cancer therapy. Secondary endpoints are quality of life measured by validated questionnaires and interviews, and physical performance. RESPECT includes a multimodal intervention program, including ambassador-facilitated educational, physical, and social interventions. The educational intervention includes an educational program aimed at the child with cancer, the child's schoolteachers and classmates, and the child's parents. Children with cancer will each have two ambassadors assigned from their class. The ambassadors visit the child with cancer at the hospital at alternating 2-week intervals and participate in the intervention program. The physical and social intervention examines the effect of early, structured, individualized, and continuous physical activity from diagnosis throughout the treatment period. The patients are tested at diagnosis, at 3 and 6 months after diagnosis, and one year after the cessation of treatment. The study is powered to quantify the impact of the combined educational, physical, and social intervention programs.Discussion: RESPECT is the first population-based study to examine the effect of early rehabilitation for children with cancer, and to use healthy classmates as ambassadors to facilitate the normalization of social life in the hospital. For children with cancer, RESPECT contributes to expanding knowledge on rehabilitation that can also facilitate rehabilitation of other children undergoing hospitalization for long-term illness.Trial Registration: Clinical Trials.gov: file. NCT01772849 and NCT01772862. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]