Factors influencing the effectiveness of a Cooperative Planning approach in the school setting

Abstract

The purpose of the Health.edu project was to develop, implement and evaluate effective and feasible measures addressing students' health-related knowledge and understanding (HKU) in physical education (PE) with a specific focus on a co-creation approach (Cooperative Planning). The general procedure was identical in the four intervention schools involved; however, effectiveness (i.e. an increase in HKU) differed. Therefore, the present study investigated how different contextual factors supported or hindered the Cooperative Planning approach (evaluation of program implementation). To consider different perspectives in the analysis, we used data triangulation. On the one hand, written protocols (N = 19) document relevant statements and decisions in each planning group meeting (scientific perspective). On the other hand, we captured the participating PE teachers’ (N = 8) individual attitudes after the Cooperative Planning process through semi-structured interviews (teachers’ perspective). Data were analysed via qualitative content analysis. We identified three relevant factors with influence on the Cooperative Planning approach. First, the Cooperative Planning intervention worked if teachers saw a benefit in providing evidence-based knowledge, reflected their teaching practices and made an effort to implement new teaching strategies. Second, it was beneficial to have students represented as partners in the decision-making process. Third, support from the principal appeared to be helpful but not mandatory for implementing progressive pedagogical concepts. Continuous monitoring and reflection on those factors by the leading project team might help facilitate subsequent interventions using Cooperative Planning.

Implementation of Physical Activity-Based Health Promotion Measures in Schools—Examples and Evaluations from Germany

“…school management), and external experts prove to be particularly relevant for a successful implementation of PA-based health promotion projects at schools. This finding provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of the co-production of active lifestyles through an interactive-knowledgeto-action approach [58] (also the Cooperative Planning process [59]) in extracurricular settings. According to this approach, all relevant actors of a setting should be involved in the planning of health promotion projects in certain settings to systematically make joint decisions and implement the project as a co-production.…”

“…However, there were also indications of a need for action (e.g., school form-specific training and materials for active breaks). In particular, the results on factors facilitating or hindering the implementation of the FaS measure allow a connection to the discussion on implementing health promotion projects based on cooperative planning processes [58,59]. The results point to the potential of this approach and to the need to consider it more strongly in the planning and implementation of future measures.…”

Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Primary Care Socio-Ecological Approach to Improve Physical Activity Adherence among People with Type 2 Diabetes: The SENWI Project

“…Therefore, it is necessary to integrate PA interventions efficiently and permanently in primary healthcare settings through a cooperative planning process (i.e., feasibility in the healthcare system) [ 46 ]. The cooperative planning process focused on the participation of different stakeholders: the target group, physical educators and physiotherapists, policymakers, and researchers [ 46 , 47 ]. Moreover, it takes into consideration factors that affect the adoption and maintenance of active behaviors, which include the social and economic dimension (e.g., social inequity), the personal (e.g., gender and age discrimination), illness, and treatment dimensions, such as healthcare professionals (HCPs), and the healthcare system (e.g., accessibility) [ 21 , 48 ].…”