[Health education in St. Gall schools: experiences from a 6-year project]

In 1982 a general concept for comprehensive health education in schools worked out by an interdisciplinary project team was introduced by the Educational Council. Health education is postulated primarily as an educational principle, but in addition to this general principle 13 distinctive content areas are put forward. In a second phase special project teams for each type of school had to transform the general concept into their own specific needs for the age groups concerned. The most important experiences from this phase can be summarized as follows: Concepts for health education in schools have to be worked out by interdisciplinary teams coordinated by an expert belonging to the educational (not the medical) system. Planning and introduction of health education has to be accompanied by changes in attitudes on all levels; the need for time must therefore not be underestimated. The project team has to discuss its results repeatedly with local educational authorities and teachers in order to ensure practicability and acceptance of its proposals. The cross-curricular nature of health education has to be stressed and to be demonstrated by working out and applying practicable models. Teachers have to be carefully prepared for their task not only by providing them with adequate material but above all by including health education as a priority in the training period as well as in postgraduate courses.