GED3803

Issues in health education

Not offered in 1999

Dr R Small

12 points - 3 hours per week - First semester - Clayton - This subject is also available to BEdSt students

Objectives Upon successful completion of this subject, students should have knowledge and understanding of a range of ideas in health education which will enable them to engage in debates over professional and social issues in an informed way, making connections between various ideas and grasping what is at stake when opposing views are expressed.

Synopsis Health education uses concepts that are sometimes taken for granted, without undergoing critical examination. Is health the absence of disease, or a positive state of well-being? Do the concepts of 'mental' health and illness make sense? How important are the social meanings of illness? Does a 'holistic' concept of health, welfare and happiness provide a better model than the accepted standpoint? Questions like these provide the starting-point for this subject, which explores various conceptual or philosophical problems underlying health issues. The concept of the individual person as an autonomous being, owner of his or her body, is one guiding theme for health education. But many such ideas change over time: for instance, developments in medical science and technology have influenced our beliefs about the limits of human life. Birth and death are no longer straightforward concepts. Is the notion of the 'sanctity' of life still adequate? More generally, to what extent do the changing attitudes or concerns of society determine the agenda for health education? We will approach these broad questions by looking into various controversial issues. Students will be expected to monitor current developments in health education and related areas, and to follow their own interests within the framework of the subject.

Assessment Assignment (6000 words): 100% - or two assignments (totalling 6000 words): 100%

Recommended texts

Health issues: A resource handbook Health Issues Centre, 1993

Back to the 1999 Education Handbook