Process evaluation of the card set "Healthy learning. Together.". Prevention tool to improve social integration and self-efficacy

BackgroundLearning together (inclusion) for children and adolescents with heterogeneous learning dispositions requires anew approach to deal with psychological problems in schools. School-based offers for health promotion should sensitize and destigmatize but also help to relieve the burden of teachers. For this purpose the prevention tool Healthy learning. Together. was developed to improve students' social integration and self-efficacy.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to test the feasibility by using the prevention tool in the classroom and an accompanying process evaluation with to deduce improvements.Material and methodsThe prevention tool consisted of aposter exhibition in the school building with 10posters entitled Belonging and acard set with 50short exercises, which was used directly in the classroom without further preparation within 6weeks. The sample consisted of students from 4thgrade to 11thgrade from 3schools in Jena, Thuringia, Germany (n=161, female=68, male=93) and 10teachers. In addition to qualitative surveys, the variables social participation and self-efficacy were measured in apre-post study using standardized questionnaires.ResultsThe self-efficacy of the students improved with small effect sizes. The feedback from teachers and students was predominantly positive.ConclusionThe participants' suggestions for improvement were used to adapt the prevention tool. In anext step, it is necessary to assess the effectiveness of the intervention in acontrolled trial. By using the prevention tool afirst step towards health promotion in schools can be realized in alow-threshold and socially equitable manner with relatively little effort.