[Health education as a transversal proposal: an analysis of the national curriculum guidelines and certain teaching conceptions]. / A educação em saúde como proposta transversal: analisando os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais e algumas concepções docentes.

Starting from the assumption that transversality is conceived as a proposal for change in education, the article outlines certain inferences on the subject. The analysis is founded on the transversal subject of "health" in the national curriculum guidelines (PCN), on semi-structured interviews and on reports resulting from conversations with teachers. It reveals that, in Brazil, the notion of transversality gained importance during the 1990s, when the PCN were established, which listed "transversal themes." In the view of the teachers interviewed, health education appears as something apart, on the margins of the curriculum. The authors believe that this is the case owing to the consolidation of the subject fields at school and the curricular structure in teacher training courses.