Based on quantitative research, this article analyzes the way health education has been approached in the undergraduate education curriculum at a state university in Brazil. The investigation was divided into two stages: the first analyzes the curriculum of the course and the second investigates how education students see the topic, based on replies to a questionnaire. In regard to the curriculum, it was seen that two of the 73 disciplines analyzed deal explicitly with health education in schools. The replies showed that 65% of the students studied do not perceive this approach in their curriculums, even though 85% consider the work of teachers indispensable for the development of the theme in schools. The authors concluded that curriculums in the area of education should critically take the theme of health education into account, due to its importance for the life and citizenship of middle-school and high-school students.
health education; universities; higher education; curriculum
