Has health education in the New Zealand curriculum “come of age”?

It has been 21 years since a literature review by Helen Shaw established the conceptual foundations for the development of health education as part of the curriculum for New Zealand schools. Using the lens provided by the schooling improvement literature, this article reflects on the development of health education in New Zealand schools to examine two propositions, draw conclusions about the growth and maturity of the subject in relation to curriculum implementation, and report on the challenges still being faced. Recommendations for future developments that have implications for health education teachers, and other education practitioners, policy makers, and researchers working in this field, are discussed.