Abstract:
The purpose of this research is to describe the journey towards Comprehensive
School Health at two Aboriginal elementary schools. An advocate and a healthy
schools committee were identified at both schools and were responsible for
developing initiatives to create a healthy school community. A case study was used
to gather an in-depth understanding of Comprehensive School Health for the two
schools involved. As a researcher, I functioned within the role of a participantobserver,
as I was actively involved in the programs and initiatives completed in both
schools. The research process included: the pilot study, ethics clearance and
distribution of letters of invitation and consent forms. Data collection included 16
semi-structured, guided interviews with principals, teachers, and stupents.
Participant observations included sites of the gymnasium, classroom, playgrounds,
school environments, bulletin boards as well as artifact analysis of decuments such as
school newsletters, physical education schedules and school handbooks. The
interviews were transcribed and coded using an inductive approach which involves
finding patterns, themes and categories from the data (patton, 2002). Research
questions guided the findings as physical activity, physical education, nutrition and
transportation were discussed. Themes developed t~rough coding were teacherstudent
interactions, cultural traditions, time constraints and professional development
and were discussed using a Comprehensive School Health framework.
