Children as visionary change agents in Danish school health promotion
Clausen, L.T ; Schmidt, C ; Aagaard-Hansen, J ; Reinbach, H.C ; Toft, U ; Bloch, P
Clausen, L.T
Schmidt, C
Aagaard-Hansen, J
Reinbach, H.C
Toft, U
Bloch, P
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Abstract
This paper describes children's perceptions and visions for a healthier social and physical environment in the setting of a primary school on the Danish island of Bornholm. Guided by an everyday-life perspective and applying participatory action research methods including social imagination and visual techniques within the framework of future creating workshops, the study engaged 50 children aged 6-9 years in creative processes of identifying health-related problem areas and solutions in their school setting. The study observed that the children were very capable of articulating their thoughts, ideas and visions for a better and healthier school environment. Identified problem areas and solutions differed widely and represented a broad perspective of health including social, physical, environmental and emotional aspects. The paper discusses advantages and challenges of involving children in decision-making processes and concludes that children are visionary and creative agents of change in health promotion projects provided that applied participatory methods are appealing to the children.
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Date
2019-10-01
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Oxford Academic
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Keywords
children,health promoting schools,participation,social imagination,visual methods
Citation
Clausen LT, Schmidt C, Aagaard-Hansen J, Reinbach HC, Toft U, Bloch P. Children as visionary change agents in Danish school health promotion. Health Promot Int. 2019 Oct 1;34(5):e18-e27. doi: 10.1093/heapro/day049.