Effective PSHE education: values, purposes and future directions

Abstract

This article explores the perceived effectiveness of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education in primary and secondary schools. It outlines the relationship between perceived effectiveness and a range of explanatory factors, linking these to the values and ethos of schools, differing views of the purposes of PSHE education, and long-standing policy agendas. We conclude by attempting to locate PSHE education in the new and rapidly evolving policy context and discuss some potential ways forward, as established means of support and challenge disappear. The data utilised in the paper come from a mapping and effectiveness study of PSHE education in both primary and secondary schools throughout England, which was conducted by Sheffield Hallam University on behalf of the Department for Education.

Keywords:

• PSHE education
• values
• purposes
• wellbeing
• schools

Notes

1. To aid with the flow of this paper, we shorten PSHE education to ‘PSHE’ from this point on.

2. Defined for the purposes of the research project as—in relation to ‘personal wellbeing’—diet, nutrition and healthy lifestyles; drug, alcohol and tobacco education; emotional health and wellbeing; safety education; sex and relationships education and—in relation to ‘economic wellbeing’—enterprise education; personal finance/financial capability and, for secondary schools, careers education and work-related learning.

3. Difficulties exist around the extent to which the outcomes of PSHE education can be measured; the paper, and the study, therefore discusses the issue of effectiveness in relation to the research participants’ perceptions of effectiveness.

4. The analysis revealed that very few PSHE-related factors proved to be significantly linked to outstanding Ofsted judgments in these areas (as might be expected, since the Ofsted ‘wellbeing’ judgements relate to a host of issues well beyond the remit of PSHE). Given this, the current paper does not report on this part of the regression analysis. For further details on this analysis, (see Formby et al., 2011, chapter 7).