The ‘Health Promoting School’ model provides a framework for school-based health promotion (HP) activities, which have become a major theme in the health and educational strategy in Europe. However, the issue of HP implementation is complex. The general purpose of this article is to report on the findings of a nationwide survey that examined the extent of HP implementation at schools in Poland. The research results presented in this paper are part of a broader research project which was conducted at the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland) in cooperation with the University of Limerick (Ireland). The research was conducted by means of the questionnaire: “National Questionnaire on SPHE and Health Promoting Schools”, developed by the staff of the University of Limerick and adapted to Polish conditions. The questionnaires were sent to schools in Poland holding the National Health Promoting School (HPS) Certificate, one hundred and three of which were completed and returned and then analysed with respect to quantity and quality. Considering the theoretical assumptions of the idea analysed, the information obtained from the respondents describing health promotion at their schools was grouped into four categories: school environment; core curriculum and learning; partnership; policy and planning. It was determined that the work of these schools emphasises mostly two elements in building a health promoting school: the school environment along with core curriculum and learning, while the two other elements (partnership; policy and planning) are more poorly implemented.

The article presents the findings of the research conducted in order to learn physical education teachers’ opinions on the implementation of the health edu- cation content. The study was carried out in lower and upper secondary schools located in the region of Upper Silesia (Poland). A quantitative method was used to gather and analyse data. The survey was conducted with a specially designed questionnaire including 17 items. The research was based on the analysis of core curriculum concerning the objectives and content of health education planned to be implemented during physical education classes in lower and upper secondary schools. The research allowed for identifying potential gaps and good practices in school-based health education and health promotion in the Polish socio-cultural conditions.

The article explores the relationship between the attitudes of the respondents towards transplantation and their sense of coherence. The presented results were obtained through the statistical analysis of data collected in a group of 467 students. The study used a self-designed questionnaire and scale to study attitudes of academic youth towards transplantation alongside Antonovsky’s Orientation to Life Questionnaire (SOC-29). The results obtained prove that there is no correlation that would justify the conclusion that the sense of coherence of the respondents has a statistically significant connection with their attitude towards transplantation. However, the sense of coherence positively correlates with one of the components of the attitude towards transplantation. This concerns the level of Knowledge, which means that people with a high sense of coherence are significantly more likely to have a higher level of Knowledge related to transplantation. The data confirmed the existence of a correlation between the level of knowledge of the respondents related to the issue of transplantation and all the components constituting a sense of coherence, i.e. a manageability, meaningfulness and comprehensibility. Conclusions formulated on the basis of the obtained results point to the necessity of taking up a contemporary pedagogical challenge, which is health education aimed at shaping social attitudes towards transplantation. An additional recommendation is to enrich educational programs with activities the goal of which is to create a high sense of coherence in their recipients, which, by definition, should have pro-health consequences for a wide group of beneficiaries.

This article presents selected factors conditioning the sense of coherence among university students. Results were obtained after analysis of statistical data collected in a group of 467 students. Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Questionnaire (SOC-29) was used in the research. The results obtained showed a predominance of a moderate level of the sense of coherence in the group of studied students. The study confirmed the existence of a dependency between the sense of coherence and the sex, year of study, and civil status of the studied persons. The other two variables, i.e., course of studies and declared level of religiosity, only showed certain tendencies. The results presented in this paper confirmed the need to shape coherence through education and socialization as a socially significant personal predisposition. The sense of coherence facilitates both self-reflection and self-development in the individual. Conclusions formulated on the basis of the obtained results point to the necessity of taking up a contemporary pedagogical challenge, which is health education. An additional recommendation is to enrich educational programs with activities the goal of which is to create a high sense of coherence in their recipients, which, by definition, should have pro-health consequences for a wide group of beneficiaries.

The article, referring to the tradition of social pedagogy, discusses the issue of health from the perspective of its relations to the community. Health can be regarded as a value, which has an individual, group or social dimension, and it is related to the process of socializing which is marked by communal diversity.

The objective of this study is to identify the socio-educational needs in childhood with congenital heart disease. Our study was carried out using a multi-method, it combines quantitative and qualitative data collected in Catalonia (Spain). The results obtained from the questionnaires and interviews with education professionals, children with congenital heart disease and their families have enabled us to establish categories. Analysis of these has provided knowledge of their socioeducational needs. This article highlights the need to consider this impact as well as its psychosocial and educational effect, and the need to focus school education on improving their quality of life.

This study aimed to evaluate Polish university students’ health literacy (HL) in the context of school and out-of-school health education and socialisation. The survey was conducted in two Polish universities between March 2023 and April 2024 using an online questionnaire. The research revealed the correlation between the HL of Polish university students and both school and non-school health education and socialisation, with a higher positive association with non-school health socialisation. Furthermore, the study revealed statistically significant differences between the general HL of Polish university students and the sources of health education. The lack of health education at school seemed to be the most significant differentiating factor. Health-literate students mean health-literate citizens. Achieving this goal should be at the forefront of future policy decisions. Therefore, implementing health education and health promotion throughout the school system (including higher education) should be a priority today.

In 2004, the Finnish school system got a new curriculum and it has been used in comprehensive schools since 1st August 2006. The national framework curriculum forms the basis for drawing up local and school curricula. A new school subject is health education starting as an independent subject from the 7th form (age 12–13). At the primary level, it is incorporated into other subjects. Health education needs therefore to be part of pre- and in-service teacher education programmes. The paper reports on the results of a project where the conceptions of teachers, pupils and parents on environment, health and health education have been investigated. The study is a qualitative case study in which a total of 42 teachers, 102 pupils and 53 parents participated voluntarily in the research. The resultant data was collected using questionnaires and theme interviews in autumn 2002 and in spring 2004. The data was analysed by using inductive content analysis methods.