Health Promoting Schools: Building Social and Organizational Capital to Promote Teachers' Wellbeing and Job Commitment

Abstract

This paper reports the results of research conducted in Queensland, Australia, investigating the impact of the HPS approach on various dimensions of the school environment, including measures of social and organizational capital, and associations between these dimensions and teachers' health and wellbeing. It forms the first phase of a longitudinal investigation into children's resilience being conducted in Queensland, Australia. This research is exploring the hypothesis that teachers' health and wellbeing is an 'organizational asset' that impacts the school environment, and by doing so becomes a determinant of children's psychosocial development. The results of this research suggest that the HPS model provides schools with a set of management principles that build human, organizational and social capital within the school, and that teachers in schools with higher social and organizational capital - health promoting schools - have lower rates of job stress, and greater job commitment. Healthier, more committed teachers provide a more positive learning environment for students, and greater collegiality for all members of staff. Future lines of research aim to show that these 'human resource' outcomes create a school climate that nurtures resilience, or positive mental health, in children. Apart from adding to international research evaluating the impact of the HPS approach, this is the first study of its kind in Australia linking school management practices consistent with the HPS approach and teachers' health and wellbeing, and raises important issues regarding human resource management within the education sector. We discuss the hypothetical model underpinning our future research directions.