ABSTRACT
This chapter approaches training issues via a critical view of the relationship between health education in schools and health education in the community in order to shed light on the ways in which the school might contribute most effectively to community health within an integrated community effort. The first distinction is between an ‘educational’ and a ‘preventive’ approach. The first of these is, superfically at least, particularly relevant to the practice of health education in schools, while the second might seem to be the prerogative of a community health education service. An educational approach is primarily concerned with the delivery of knowledge. Whether or not a preventive goal is adopted, it is difficult to see how health education may be fully effective without the involvement of the home and community. The notion of self-empowerment is most readily understood by considering the factors which impede an individual’s freedom to choose a healthy lifestyle.
