About 70 colleges and universities offer programs to train health education teachers, and the profession is growing. Members of the profession feel strongly that health education should not be considered a part of physical education and that physical education should not be a branch of health education. Some high schools now give a half year to physical education and a half year to health instruction.
World War II brought a renewed focus on the role of the school in promoting good health. The traditional equating of health with physical fitness, and health education with physical education, was further perpetuated during this period. During the 1960's this concept was replaced by the identification of health education as a discipline separate from physical education. The School Health Education Study, initiated with private funds in 1961, had the most significant impact in establishing health education as a separate discipline.
Until recently Dr Richard Bailey was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at Christ Church University College. He is now in the Department of Science and Technology Education at the University of Reading, where he teaches in the area of Physical Education. His primary research interests concern the contributions the biological sciences can make to education, especially in the early years. Current projects include the evolutionary nature of children's play and children's physiological responses to physical activity.
About 70 colleges and universities offer programs to train health education teachers, and the profession is growing. Members of the profession feel strongly that health education should not be considered a part of physical education and that physical education should not be a branch of health education. Some high schools now give a half year to physical education and a half year to health instruction.