Elevhälsoarbete som pedagogisk praktik. Kvalitativa studier om lärares arbete med elevers hälsa i gymnasieskolan

Abstract in English

The aim of this dissertation is to contribute new knowledge regarding teachers’ involvement instudent health work. This is investigated from four perspectives: (1) policy documents, (2) teachers’perspectives, (3) students’ perspectives, and (4) the perspectives of student health professionals andschool principals.To achieve the aim of the dissertation, five research questions are addressed: 1) How are nationalguidelines regarding teachers’ health-promoting work recontextualized in local policy documents?2) How do teachers describe their student health work within their daily teaching practice? 3) Whatroles in teachers’ student health work emerge from students’ narratives? 4) How are teacherspositioned in student health work by other professional actors within the school? 5) Whatprofessional role for teachers in student health work emerges from the studies included in thedissertation?In recent years, the teacher has assumed an increasingly central role in promoting students’ health.However, national guidelines for teachers’ work in this area are often vague or insufficient, whichmay lead to stress and burnout among teachers as well as difficulties in collaboration with otherprofessional groups. This dissertation is a compilation thesis consisting of four individual studiesand a comprehensive summary (kappa). The first four research questions align with each respectivestudy, while the fifth is addressed through a synthesis presented in the results section of thecomprehensive summary. The theoretical framework is based on symbolic interactionism andpragmatism. The empirical data consists of local documents called student health plans, andinterviews with teachers, students, student health professionals and school principals.The first study is a document analysis, revealing that teachers’ health promotion often becomesempty, floating and invisible when national guidelines are recontextualized in local documents. Thismeans that the concept of “health promotion” is not associated with any specific actions orencompasses widely differing actions. The second study, based on interviews with teachers, showsthat their student health work in everyday teaching is described through two overarching themes:building positive relationships and supporting students’ academic success. These findings areconceptualized using the theoretical notion of social pedagogical recognition.In Study III, students were interviewed. The findings highlight four dominant roles teachers assumein health promotion work: (1) A Creator of Joyful Learning, (2) A Creator of a Sense of Control,(3) A Spreader of Happiness, and (4) A Creator of a Sense of Value. In students’ narratives, bothdidactic and relational competencies are emphasized, competencies that are seen as mutuallydependent and inseparable.Study IV is based on interviews with school principals, school nurses, school counsellors, andspecial educational needs coordinators. This study illustrates how teachers are simultaneouslypositioned as both central and marginalized within student health work. The roles ascribed toteachers are contradictory: on the one hand, they are seen as less competent help-seekers; on theother, as potentially competent health promoters.The fifth research question is addressed in the synthesis in the thesis summary (kappa). Thissynthesis indicates that the professional role of teachers in student health work, while partly fluid,contains a shared core. The theoretical concepts educative relationships and educative environmentsare employed to conceptualize this core.Defining a specific role for teachers in student health work proves to be challenging. The limitedempirical material in this dissertation points to a more general issue: the current national guidelinesand policy documents often leave room for interpretation. Through interaction, the various actorsinvolved in student health work (teachers, students, and other professionals) fill these policy gapswith their own norms and expectations. This can place teachers in an uncertain position, where theirrole remains unclear and implicit. Although this is not necessarily the case in all schools, thestructure allows for such ambiguity to arise in many contexts, making it a systemic issue.However, the findings also indicate a positive dimension: within this complexity and uncertainty,the teachers in this dissertation appear capable of crafting meaningful roles for themselves in studenthealth work. If policymakers aim to clarify the teacher’s role in this work, the results of thisdissertation offer valuable insights that could inform further development. The type of healthpromotion work described in the dissertation includes competencies that most teachers alreadypossess and cultivate in their professional practice, positioning them as experts in their own domain.Establishing a clearly defined area of expertise for teachers within student health work may reduceinterprofessional tensions and foster better collaboration, which in turn could lead to improvedhealth outcomes for students.