There are currently very few resources available in New Zealand for teaching mental health education (within the Health and Physical Education learning area). Outside providers are, however, offering different programmes for sale to schools (in areas such as positive psychology, mindfulness, and growth mindset). These tend to be individualistic,…

This literature review investigates the perception of secondary teachers about their role of supporting and promoting students' mental health and whether teachers feel equipped to fulfil the requirements of this role. Analysis of 13 research articles published between 2008-2022 indicated that most secondary teachers, across five countries,…

As part of their kaupapa of catering for the whole child, Pacific Advance Secondary School in Otahuhu has implemented an innovative programme called Tu Tangata to get their talavou physically active. This has led to improvements in mental wellbeing and academic achievements. Tu Tangata is an expression well known to Maori and means "stand…

Every moment counts (EMC) is a multi-tiered mental health promotion initiative designed to build the capacity of practitioners to address the mental health needs of children and youth in school settings. This study evaluated the impact and cultural relevance of EMC workshops in supporting practitioners to apply a public health approach to…

This book is the result of a collaboration between academics at the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau and teachers in schools. It is an excellent resource for teachers wanting to teach about resilience, mental health, interpersonal skills, and wellbeing. It contains lesson plans designed to enhance learning to enable primary students to…

There has been concerns about the increasing incidence of youth depression and anxiety, with school teachers seeking out ways to better equip youth with skills to help them deal with daily life. A resilience training programme for youth was implemented in one region of New Zealand. It aimed to enhance resilience through the instruction of…

In learning and life, there will always be challenges, requiring resilience to overcome, adapt, and persist in the face of adversity. Resilience is a key aspect of mental health and lifelong learning, reflected in the vision, key competencies, and health-related elements of the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007). Working on the…

Access to, and delivery of, safe and culturally appropriate health services is increasingly important in New Zealand. This paper will focus on counting the costs of health advocacy through the experience of a small non government charitable organisation, the Health Advocates Trust, (HAT) which aimed to provide advocacy services for a wide range of…

In New Zealand, schools are implementing a variety of strategies in an attempt to address factors that adversely influence students' learning. The purpose of this article is to present the findings of a study that sought to determine the extent to which schools were able not only to identify health issues influencing learning, but also to use a…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2021, organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.), that this year has been converted into a fully Virtual Conference as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic.…

The consequences of the neo-liberal societal "speed-up" are lived at the apparently contradictory intersection of mobile lifestyles and obesogenic environments. The focus for public health interventions is the bodies of children. Recent interpretive research into how pre-teenaged children talk about watching television suggests that…

The purpose of this study was to determine the physical, psychological and biochemical health status of staff members at a higher educational institution (Institute of Technology). Relative large numbers of subjects were identified with hypertension (18.5%), stress symptoms (32.1%), job stress (36%) and emotional exhaustion (11.4%). Thirty percent…

Aim: To examine the associations between connectedness to family and friends, and school engagement, and selected health compromising and health promoting behaviours in a sample of New Zealand adolescents. Methods: A web-based survey was designed and administered to a random sample of 652 Year 11 students aged 16 years from all Dunedin (NZ) high…

Health promotion redirects thinking about health by: reasserting its social and political aspects; ensuring the people the power to define their own health concerns; and placing health more clearly in the context of other aims in life. This compilation of 41 articles in 8 sections attempts to document this process of redirection of thought. The…

This paper examines the perspectives of secondary school students and staff about the extent to which young people's health rights are catered for at school. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the concept of Health-Promoting Schools encourage the provision of healthy school environments. A postal survey of secondary…