CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND ITS APPLICATION TO HEALTH-EDUCATION - A CRITICAL-APPRAISAL OF THE CASA-EN-CASA MODEL

Casa en Casa is a popular education project of the community health ed ucation section of La Clinica de la Raza, a community-based health cli nic in Oakland, California. The author examines the Casa en Casa model for its contributions to furthering health education practitioners' u nderstanding of critical pedagogy and community organizing and their r elationship to health education. A description of the project's achiev ements and the obstacles faced in reaching its goals of community empo werment is followed by an analysis of the weaknesses in the project th at may undermine its effectiveness. Recommendations are made as to the importance of linking theory to practice and practice to a long-term vision of social change.