Bullying includes a wide range of repetitive behaviours with the intent to cause harm. For example name calling, offensive comments, hitting, kicking and shoving, theft or harm to belongings, graffiti, coercion, spreading of harmful messages through gossip, sending or spreading messages and images through mobile phones and the internet, deliberate exclusion from play and isolation.

Bullying linked to prejudice and discrimination Bullying can also be linked to prejudicial behaviour or targeting of certain individuals or groups – for example homophobic bullying, bullying of children with special educational needs and disabilities, bullying related to health conditions and allergies, bullying related to race and religion, bullying of children in care, bullying of children who care for their parents or their siblings (young carers), and gender based bullying (e.g. targeting of trans-young people or sexist bullying).

Sexual bullying Sexual bullying is any behaviour with a sexual element that is harmful, non-consensual and repeated. For example this could include sexual comments and name-calling, spreading of sexual rumours, use of technology to spread sexual gossip, comments or images, exposing body parts and non-consensual touch (e.g. touching body parts, pulling bra straps, raising skirts, pulling down trousers).

Cyberbullying The development of internet and mobile phone technology has provided different tools and methods for bullying others that we call cyberbullying.However, fundamentally it is driven by the same behaviour and motivation as any form of bullying. Cyberbullying can include sending or posting of harmful messages, comments and images online or through mobile phones, exclusion form social networking and impersonating of others to cause harm.

Bullying and crime There are times that bullying behaviour becomes criminal - but not all bullying behaviour is criminal. Some examples of bullying behaviour that could be considered criminal include:
- threatening or actual physical assault
- threatening or actual sexual assault
- the use of technology to bully and harass
- theft
- coercing others to commit a crime
- hate crime (e.g. racism)

Impacts of Bullying: Bullying has an impact on those that are being bullied, those that do the bullying, the bystanders observing the bullying and the surrounding neighbourhoods, community or schools in which the bullying takes place

(Source: Adapted from Anti-Bullying Alliance, England, UK and PREVNET, Canada)

Capacity (of organizations, professionals, communities and individuals):

The concept of organizational capacity can be applied to school health, safety & social development programs at two levels, first in defining the baseline or minimum staffing, financial and policy requirements and secondly, by defining several operational capacities that promote effectiveness.

Baseline Capacity The basic capacity of health, school and other systems to promote learning, health, safety and social development requires essential number of staff, financial resources and legislative/policy authority to operate a minimally effective and coordinated school-based or school linked approach or to implement a defined number or type of programs, services and policies. These basic capacities include the physical aspects of the schools, social supports such as parent and community involvement, essential preventive health and other services, core instruction in health, family studies, physical education, environmental studies, social studies and moral/spiritual/religious instruction and essential policies requiring schools, agencies and ministries to work together.

Operational Capacity: From that baseline capacity, a number of operational capacities are required within schools, neighbourhoods, agencies, ministries and systems as well as among the professional and other staff assigned to work with or within schools in order to maintain their overall educational effectiveness, health, safety and social development as well as to implement and sustain programs. These capacities include the ability to coordinated policy, assign staff to coordinate programs and services, formal and informal mechanisms for cooperation, ongoing workforce development, effective knowledge exchange, regular monitoring & reporting, strategic management of issues and an explicit plan for sustainability of the system and core programs. Adapted from WHO National Capacity Assessment Tool

Capacity-building: is the development of knowledge, skills, commitment, structures, systems and leadership to enable effective health promotion. It involves actions to improve health at three levels: the advancement of knowledge and skills among practitioners; the expansion of support and infrastructure for health promotion in organizations, and; the development of cohesiveness and partnerships for health in communities. Reference: WHO Glossary of Terms in Health Promotion, 2006

Curriculum: refers to the required courses of study and sets of learning objectives/outcomes stipulated by national, state/provincial or local education authorities

Curriculum Supplement: refers to additional guidance, resources, suggested lesson plans and other advice produced to support the stipulated curriculum.

Determinants of health The range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors which determine the
health status of individuals or populations. The factors which influence health are multiple and interactive. Health promotion is
fundamentally concerned with action and advocacy to address the full range of potentially modifiable determinants of health – not only those which are related to the actions of individuals, such as health behaviours and lifestyles, but also factors such as income and social status, education, employment and working conditions, access to appropriate health services, and the physical environments. These, in combination, create different living conditions which impact on health. Achieving change in these lifestyles and living conditions, which determine health status, are considered to be intermediate health outcomes. Reference: WHO Glossary of Terms in Health Promotion, 2006

Disease prevention covers measures not only to prevent the occurrence of disease, such as risk factor reduction, but also to arrest its progress and reduce its consequences once established. Reference: WHO Glossary of Terms in Health Promotion, 2006

Health A state of complete physical, social and mental well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Within the context of health promotion, health has been considered less as an abstract state and more as a means to an end which can be expressed in functional terms as aresource which permits people to lead an individually, socially and economically productive life. Health is a resource for everyday life, not the object of living. It is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capabilities. Reference: WHO Glossary of Terms in Health Promotion, 2006


Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health. Health promotion has emerged as a cornerstone of contemporary public health that aims to advance the physical, social, [sexual, reproductive], and mental health of the wider community. Health promotion represents a comprehensive social and political process,it not only embraces actions directed at strengthening the skills and capabilities of individuals, but also action directed towards changing social, environmental and economic conditions so as to alleviate their impact on public and individual health. The Ottawa Charter identifies three basic strategies for health promotion. These are

• advocacy for health to create the essential conditions for health indicated above;
  
• enabling all people to achieve their full health potential; and
  
• mediating between the different interests in society in the pursuit of health.
  

These strategies are supported by five priority action areas as outlined in the Ottawa Charter
for health promotion:

• Build healthy public policy
• Create supportive environments for health
• Strengthen community action for health
• Develop personal skills, and
• Re-orient health services
  

Reference: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion

Health, Personal and Social Development Education is not only concerned with the communication of information, but also with fostering the attitudes, beliefs, motivation, skills, behavioral intentions, practical or functional knowledge and confidence (self-efficacy) necessary to take action to improve health, to be aware of and to access health services and various forms of social support as well as take responsibility for the health of others, the community and the environment. Health literacy is a term often used to describe the essential skills, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs required for all students to acquire in order to maintain their own health. Health education includes the communication of information concerning the underlying social, economic and environmental conditions impacting on health, as well as individual risk factors and risk behaviours and use of the health system. Thus, health education may involve the communication of information, and development of skills which demonstrates the political feasibility and organizational possibilities of various forms of action to address social, economic and environmental determinants of health. In the past, health education was used as a term to encompass a wider range of actions including social mobilization and advocacy. These methods are now encompassed in the term health promotion, and a more narrow definition of health education is proposed here to emphasize the distinction. HPSD education curricula in school systems are often delivered apart from or combined with Physical Education, Family Life/Home Economics, Personal/Moral or Character Education, Religious Education and Career/Life Planning Education. Adapted from: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion

Health communication is a key strategy to inform the public about health concerns and to maintain important health issues on the public agenda. The use of the mass and multi media and other technological innovations to disseminate useful health information to the public, increases awareness of specific aspects of individual and collective health as well as importance of health in development. Reference: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion

Health literacy represents the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health. Health literacy implies the achievement of a level of knowledge, personal skills and confidence to take action to improve personal and community health by changing personal lifestyles and living conditions. Thus, health literacy means more than being able to read pamphlets and make appointments. By improving people’s access to health information, and their capacity to use it effectively, health literacy is critical to empowerment. Health literacy is itself dependent upon more general levels of literacy. Poor literacy can affect people’s health directly by limiting their personal, social and cultural development, as well as hindering the development of health literacy. Reference: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion

Homophobia is the fear of homosexuals and homosexuality that can be expressed by feelings of discomfort in the presence of gays and lesbians, by rejecting them and by verbally or physically abusing them. Homophobia is often used as an umbrella term for all feelings of fear and dislike directed toward gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. Homophobia can be institutional, societal or internalised. Societal or cultural homophobia is the homophobia that permeates all aspect of social life and relates to the social and cultural norms that promote heterosexuality, gender norms and the discrimination against GLBT people. Homosexuality is always considered as “different”, to be welcomed, tolerated, or despised. The media, film, TV, books, holiday brochures, insurance companies, religious institutions and schools all back this up. (Source: Rainbow Centre, Canada)

Institutional or organisational homophobia is systematic discrimination of GLBT people by government, business, employers, public services and other organizations. It happens when a company invites an employee and their husband or wife to an event, explicitly excluding same sex relationships or when the family membership to a fitness club only mentions opposite sex partnerships. This exclusion is not necessarily deliberate but means that institutions have not considered same sex partners as an option. In schools this can emerge in sex and relationships education sessions which tend to focus on heterosexuality as the accepted norm for all students.

Internalised homophobia happens when one integrates society’s ideas on homosexuality and turns this homophobia against her/himself or the against the GLBT community. Individuals that internalised homophobia will hate themselves for being gay, lesbian, bisexuals of transgender and will feel valued if they reject everything GLBT.

Heterosexism is the belief that heterosexuality is better and superior than homosexuality. In a heterosexist society, heterosexuality is more desirable, therefore, until proven otherwise it is assumed that people are heterosexuals.

Implementation of a Policy, Program, Practice or Approach. The execution of a decision to adopt a program or approach, that is, the innovation or reform of a system suggested by research or experience is put into practice. The scope of the implementation will vary, according to the size, scope and complexity of the change. Innovations (ie specific interventions such as policies, programs, services, professional or organizational practices) are usually implemented without intending or causing a change or shift in emphasis among the basic functions of the organization. Reforms of the system, such as comprehensive or coordinated school health programs, do require a shift in the basic functions of school systems, public health systems and other systems.

Institutionalization Ongoing use or continued implementation of the innovation in practice by incorporating the innovation into the routines of an organization (part of sustainable health promotion actions) Other features include; features of “institutionalization”being a line item in the permanent agency budget;having a place in the agency’s organization chart; having personnel or full time equivalents (FTEs) assigned to specific prevention tasks;having position descriptions that include prevention functions and level of effort;having facilities and equipment for program operations;and developing an institutional memory for important agreements and understandings. .Reference: Oldenburg, B. and Parcel, G. 2002. Diffusion of Innovations. In Glanz et al., 2002 Health Behaviour and Health Education, Swisher, J.D. (2000). Sustainability of prevention. Addictive Behaviors, 25, 965-973

Instructional Program: refers to a published set of learning objectives, suggested teaching and learning strategies, lesson plans, educational resources and teacher training materials that have been produced to support a curriculum or even as a stand-alone document suitable for use with several curricula.

Intervention An activity or set of activities aimed at modifying a process, course of action or sequence of events, in order to change one or several of its characteristics such as performance or expected outcome. Interventions can include a policy or organizational procedure, professional or organizational practice, revising an organizational structure or process, a program, a professional or volunteer service, an informal or formal education or training program, the provision of social support, the delivery of referral, preventive, treatment or rehabilitation/assistance services Adapted from WHO Global Forum on Chronic Disease Prevention and Control. Geneva: World Health Organization Press; 2004.

Knowledge A fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, evidence interpretation and expert insight that provides a framework for decision making, evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It may be explicit or tacit, and individual or collective. In organizations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories, but also in organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms.Source: Davenport, T.H. & Prusak, L. Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know, Harvard Business School Press, 1998 and European Committee for Standardization, 2004.

Mental Health in Children & Adolescents The mental health of children and youth can be conceptualized as a tapestry of inter-related threads that can be loosely grouped into four overlapping categories; positive mental health (e.g emotional health, mindfulness, critical thinking, attachments), problems caused by life experiences (e.g. bereavement, stress, divorce), interactions with other health or social problems (e.g. bullying, addictions, discrimination based on race or sexual orientation) and mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety, suicide). Fundamentally, mental health is about the individual successfully adapting to her/his environment, by making changes in him/herself, by changes being made in their environment or in modifying the interactions between people and their environments.. Mental health does not mean absence of mental distress as distress can often be normal or expected and is often a signal that adaptation is needed. Mental health is dependent upon a healthy brain, a healthy body and a healthy environment. Mental health problems can be understood as difficulties in adaptation, either due to individual traits, undeveloped strengths or weaknesses that make it difficult for the individual to adapt, factors in the environment that make adaptation difficult, significant life experiences or incidents or a combination or interactions of the above. A mental disorder can be understood as a failure of adaptation, either due to factors within the individual (for example: genetics), factors unique to the environment (for example severe and ongoing trauma) or a combination thereof.

Positive mental health is a state of successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with adversity. Mental health is indispensable to personal well-being, family and interpersonal relationships, and contribution to community or society. It is easy to overlook the value of mental health until problems surface. Positive mental health includes psychological, social and emotional well-being as described by Corey Keyes (2007). It is expressed as self-acceptance/social acceptance and positive affect, personal growth, self-actualization and life satisfaction. People with positive mental health feel that they have a purpose in life and that they are making a social contribution. They believe they can master complex environments, perceive coherence in the social environment, are autonomous, feel part of their communities and have positive relations with others. Specific aspects in PMH include mindfulness, emotional intelligence, brain development, maturation/psychological and social development, critical thinking/self-control, spirituality, social skills, social attachment, physical behaviours and physical/built environments that contribute to PMH.

Mental health problems refer to signs and symptoms of insufficient intensity or duration to meet the criteria for any mental disorder. Almost everyone has experienced mental health problems in which the distress one feels matches some of the signs and symptoms of mental disorders. Mental health problems may warrant active efforts in health promotion, prevention, and treatment.The list of MH problems and related factors includes: difficulties in making the transition between levels of schooling (pre-school, elementary school, secondary school and post-secondary education/training/employment), nurturing resilience, living with parents or in families with mental illness, bereavement, stress/distress, social isolation, homelessness/transience, trauma from natural disasters, pandemics and conflicts and more.

Interactions between mental health and a variety of health, social and economic problems. While it is difficult to separate out cause-effect relationships we should not position MH as the panacea or root of all problems. Consequently, it is important to carve out the psychological aspects that can be addressed effectively and realistically through MH public policies and programs. The list of interactions with other conditions, diseases and problems includes; intellectual, physical and learning disabilities, child abuse and neglect, child sexual abuse, unintentional pregnancy, bullying/aggression, addictions to substances (tobacco, alcohol, drugs, medications) as well as gambling, discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender, culture, race and language, cultural isolation, cultural oppression and others.

Mental illness is the term that refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders. Mental disorders are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behaviour (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and/or impaired functioning. The category of mental illness refers to disorders diagnosed using one of the current systems of diagnostics such as DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) or ICD -10 (World Health Organization, 2007). The list of mental illnesses that present during adolescence include compulsive behaviours, generalised anxiety, ADHD, FASD, autism, behaviour disorders, aggression, self-harm, suicide, overcoming stigma to access services and support and others.

Terms related to Mental Health (Source: Wikipedia)

Identity Formation: Self-concept or self-identity is the sum total of a being's knowledge and understanding of his or her self. The self-concept is different from self-consciousness, which is an awareness of one's self. Components of the self-concept include physical, psychological, and social attributes, which can be influenced by the individual's attitudes, habits, beliefs and ideas. These components and attributes can not be condensed to the general concepts of self-imageand the self-esteem.

In sociology,gender identity describes the gender with which a person identifies (i.e., whether one perceives oneself to be a man, a woman, or describes oneself in some less conventional way), but can also be used to refer to the gender that other people attribute to the individual on the basis of what they know from gender role indications (social behavior, clothing, hair style, etc.). Gender identity may be affected by a variety of social structures, including the person's ethnic group, employment status, religion or irreligion, and family.

Interpersonal identity development is composed of three elements:

• Categorisation: Labeling others (and ourselves) into categories.
• Identification: Associating others with certain groups.
• Comparison: Comparing groups.

Interpersonal identity development allows an individual to question and examine various personality elements, such as ideas, beliefs, and behaviors. Social influences by the actions or thoughts of others change an individual. Examples of social influence can be seen in socialisation and peer pressure. This is the effect of other people on a person's behavior. Interpersonal identity development occurs during exploratory self-analysis and self-evaluation ending at various time with the establishment of an easy-to-understand and consolidative sense of self or identity. Individuals gain a social identity and group identity by their affiliation. This is from membership in various groups. These groups include, among various categories,:family,ethnic background, education and occupation, friendship,dating,sex roles and religion

Developmental Stages: Theories of developmental stages: In developmental psychology, a stage is a distinct phase in an individual's development. Many theories in psychology characterise development in terms of stages.Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, expanding on Freud's psychosexual stages, defined eight stages that describe how individuals relate to their social world.James W. Fowler's stages of faith development is seen as a holistic orientation and is concerned with the individual's relatedness to the universal.Sigmund Freud's psychosexual stages describe the progression of an individual's unconscious desires.Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development to describe how individuals develop in reasoning about morals.Jane Loevinger developed a theory with stages of ego development.Margaret Mahler's psychoanalytic developmental theory contained three phases regarding the child's object relations.Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development to describe how children reason and interact with their surroundings.James Marcia's theory focuses on identity achievement and has four identity statuses.Maria Montessori's sensitive periods of development is concerned with the series of leaps in learning during the preschool year

Population health is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of the entire population and to reduce health inequities among population groups. In order to reach these objectives, it looks at and acts upon the broad range of factors and conditions that have a strong influence on our health.Source: Public Health Agency of Canada. Population health approach. [cited Sept. 20, 2006] Available from: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/phdd/approach/index.html

Positive Youth Development, Asset Development An approach toward all youth that builds on their assets and their potential and helps to counter problems that may affect them. Examples of key elements include providing youth with safe and supportive environments, providing opportunities for youth to pursue their interests, and providing opportunities for youth to show they care about others and their society.

Program is a defined and described set of activities (such as providing instruction, health or other services, social support or changes to the physical environment.

Re-orienting health services: Health services re-orientation is characterized by a more explicit concern for the achievement of population health outcomes in the ways in which the health system is organized and funded. This must lead to a change of attitude and organization of health services, which focuses on the needs of the individual as a whole person, balanced against the needs of population groups. Reference: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion

School Board, District or Local Education Authority is the regional or local organization elected or appointed to administer schools in a given territory.

School Health Promotion is the school-based or school-linked application of health promotion strategies within and through the school setting. Several terms are used around the world to describe this process including healthy schools, health promoting schools, coordinated school health programs and comprehensive school health approaches. Similar holistic terms are used to denote multi-intervention approaches, programs and strategies to promote community-school linkages, school safety and caring, effective schools, schools in low income countries, schools serving aboriginal communities and schools responding to emergencies such as war, disasters and epidemics. As well, there are similar issue specific terms promoting or addressing human rights, child/youth engagement, inclusion of students with disabilities, mental health, physical activity, drugs and alcohol, tobacco use, social & emotional learning and more. This encyclopedia and knowledge exchange program makes a distinction among comprehensive approaches (multi-issue, multi-system, multi-level), coordinated agency and school programs (multiple interventions involving education and other agency personnel on one or a select few issues) and whole school strategies that involve only school or education system personnel in the delivery of interventions.

School Multiple Intervention Plans or Programs (SMIP's) refers to models. frameworks and defined programs that combine and coordinated sets of multiple interventions that are delivered through and in schools. These multiple interventions are delivered by a variety of agencies and professions. They can be delivered through comprehensive approaches (addressing multiple health & social issues with action at multiple levels in different systems), in coordinated agency and school board programs or in whole school strategies. Often these plans are developed into specific multi-intervention programs that tested and can be replicated.


Social marketing is the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution and evaluation of programs designed to influence the behaviour of target audiences in order to improve the welfare of individuals and society. Reference: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion

Social support That assistance available to individuals and groups from within communities which can provide a buffer against adverse life events and living conditions, and can provide a positive resource for enhancing the quality of life. Social support may include emotional support, information sharing and the provision of material resources and services. Social support is now widely recognized as an important determinant of health, and an essential element of social capita. Reference: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion

Sustainable health promotion, safety and social or sustainable development actions are those that can maintain their benefits for communities and populations beyond their initial stage of implementation. Sustainable actions can continue to be delivered within the limits of finances, expertise, infrastructure, natural resources and participation by stakeholders. Reference: WHO Glossary of Health Promotion