Background:

The current Organic Law for the Improvement of Educational Quality (LOMCE) incorporates substantial changes from the previous law, in particular a new curricular configuration with a higher prevalence of optionality, which may affect the development of health competencies by students. The objective was to address health education in the last two years, according to the amount and variability of Health related terms.

Methods:

A comparative quantitative analysis was performed based on the presence of 281 terms related to eight areas of Health Education in both laws and for the two compulsory education stages (Primary and Secondary).

Results:

Overall, no significant differences were found in the number of terms, or in the treatment of the health areas between laws. However, the increase in optional subjects in the LOMCE increases differences in training in Health Education. The difference in the number of terms studied by a student depending on the curricular itinerary is 28% in Primary and ESO in the LOMCE, compared to 0% and 7% in the LOE.

Conclusions:

The LOMCE does not represent an improvement in Health Education in terms of the number of health terms, and allows considerable asymmetry in the training of young people depending on their curricular itinerary. The results suggest that it would be necessary to reinforce the contents of Health Education in compulsory subjects.

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