Democracy is one of SHEs core values. It aims to ensure that an action or process is done with, rather than to, the people. The principle of democracy is important in education as well as in health, as the overall purpose of education in many countries is to educate pupils to participate actively in their society. A key strategy for a health-promoting school is to ensure that its organization, the way decisions are made, and the management structures are all democratic, empowering, and encourage genuine participation by students, staff, and parents. Examples of implementing a democratic process include school administration consulting staff and students openly, teachers enabling and facilitating students to help themselves, student parliaments, parents' councils, and school planning groups which include members from the local community.
Background to the European Network of Health Promoting Schools and democracy
Developing a health-promoting school - this manual is available in other languages