In this article we present the results of a study on educational practices at the "Escuela de Malariología y Saneamiento Ambiental 'Dr. Arnoldo Gabaldón'" (EMSA), a pioneering institution in training health personnel, pertaining to the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance in Venezuela. This study was developed as an experiment in action-oriented participant research, i. e. authorities, teachers, and students were committed to an evaluation of the educational practices in which they were involved. The main results of this cooperative inquiry were: a theoretical reconstruction of the models of health education employed by EMSA; a critical analysis of those models; and the design and testing of an alternative model centered on community participation.
Health Education; Community Participation; Action-Oriented Research; Education for Participation; Educational Models
