Health education and science education. A win-win situation

Background. Health education and science education have rarely been linked together in school. The concept of Health Literacy conveys a new view on the relationship between these two educational fields and therefore provides a chance to close a cultural-historical gap. Aims. A literature survey in the most prominent international journals in research of science education investigates into already emerging approaches to link health education and science education. Results. Although the technical term of health literacy has not been introduced to research in science education so far, a considerable body of articles about health issues in science education shows (in terms of health literacy) a potential win-win-situation between the two fields. Science education could mostly profit from a huge interest of students in science-based health and medical issues, whilst health education could pay attention to the long empirical research tradition in science education and its forthcoming results concerning inquiry-based science education.