About the School Health Training and Ecohealth Promotion Foundation (STEP)

The School Health Training and Ecohealth Promotion Foundation (STEP) is a foundation established to promote school health in developing countries. This is because human resources are essential to national development, and they must be physically and mentally healthy.
In Cambodia, STEP will implement Phase 2 of the School Health Development Project for all Cambodian Children (SHCC) as its main project. Phase 1 of SHCC was implemented by Tokyo Gakugei University with funding from The Nippon Foundation over a seven-year period, beginning with preparatory activities in 2019.
During Phase 1 (March 2020 to December 2025), efforts focused on establishing the foundations of school health education to promote school health in Cambodian primary schools, centering on Teacher Education Colleges in Phnom Penh and Battambang. To train teachers who can teach school health at the primary school level, school health education was introduced into the primary school education programs at these colleges.
In Phase 2 (from January 2026 onward), the School Health and Ecohealth Promotion Foundation will take over the project and aim to establish a school health sub-course within lower secondary school education programs in order to train teachers who specialize in health education. In collaboration with Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and The Nippon Foundation, and after completing the foundational development in Cambodia, the project also aims to expand to the ASEAN region, using Cambodia as a model.

Main Activities

Development of School Health Textbook for Teacher Education Colleges

We are developing a school health textbook designed to help student teachers at teacher education colleges acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to teach school health to children.

The textbook covers not only practical knowledge for teaching children, but also provides comprehensive content that allows student teachers to study school health as an academic discipline.

Training of School Health Lecturers at Teacher Education Colleges

We train school health lecturers at teacher education colleges in Cambodia who are responsible for teaching school health classes. We regularly conduct comprehensive school health training sessions covering topics such as the content of school health textbooks, health education teaching methodologies, and the management of school health rooms. In addition, we also organize lesson study to improve the quality of instruction.

Introduction of School Health Teaching Practicum in the Primary School Education Program

In Cambodian primary schools, school health, which has been newly introduced as a subject, is mainly taught by homeroom teachers.
To ensure that student teachers graduating from the primary school education program at teacher education colleges can teach school health smoothly in actual school settings, we are working to incorporate school health into teaching practicums.

Establishment of the School Health Specialist Course in the Lower Secondary School Teacher Training Program

STEP aims to establish Cambodia’s first specialized school health course within the lower secondary school education program.
In addition to developing the syllabus, textbooks, and teaching materials needed to acquire specialized knowledge, we will also provide student teachers with practical instruction, such as the management of school health rooms, through school health lecturers.

Recipient of an Order from the Cambodian Government

In March 2025, the Cambodian government recognized SHCC’s achievements to date and awarded us medals.

Project leader Takashi Asakura received the Royal Monisalapong Medal Grant Fiche, and project coordinator Yuuka Masuko received the Royal Monisalapong Medal Officier.