Projekt LifeLab prehrana in zdravje – inovativno poučevanje za prihodnost: razvoj aktivnih učnih nalog za učence pri pouku gospodinjstva v 21. stoletju

Food and Health, previously referred to as Home Economics, is a mandatory school subject in Norway. It has the unique advantage of giving all students, regardless of their social background, practical skills and knowledge, life skills that are important for their future health. In the LifeLab Food and Health project, we have developed a research-based and innovative teaching programme and evaluated how it is perceived in a school setting in Norway. This teaching programme is for use in Food and Health teacher education, but also in the education of primary and lower secondary school students in the same subject. LifeLab Food and Health consists of learning tasks in which students in the sixth and ninth grades in school gain first-hand knowledge and an understanding of life skills that are important to manage everyday life. In this paper, we present the learning activities developed and how the students experienced them. Examples of such learning tasks are tasks revealing the science behind dietary guidelines and the promotion of a healthy diet through student active tasks. Our aim is to establish LifeLab Food and Health as a “best practice” within master’s education in Home Economics at the University of Agder in Norway. (DIPF/Orig.

Food and health teachers’ experience of online teaching of a practical school subject during the initial Corona lockdown

When the Norwegian authorities closed all schools with immediate effect on March 12th 2020 due to Coronavirus, teachers had to find new strategies for educating their pupils online. Food and health are a compulsory subject in Norwegian primary and lower secondary schools, where the main focus is on practical cooking lessons. We hypothesised that practical subjects like food and health would be difficult to perform online. Therefore, we aimed to investigate how food and health teachers carried out their teaching and evaluated the pupils in this challenging situation. A short online survey was developed. An invitation to respond was sent by email to all primary and lower secondary schools containing a link to the survey. The survey included questions about the teachers’ digital tools, how they communicated with the pupils, and how pupils documented their work. A total of 817 food and health teachers responded, and 710 of them completed the full survey. After excluding teachers who had only answered the demographic questions, we ended up with 751 participants. Most teachers taught food and health in 5th-7th grade (44%) and 8th-10th grade (51%). Only 5 % were teaching at 1st-4th grade. 86% of the respondents were women. The most widely used teaching tool used for online teaching was videos found on the internet, closely followed by digital learning platforms. Regarding documentation of the pupils’ work, photos and log were most frequently used. Written communication in digital platforms and video conference was the most preferred tools for keeping contact with the pupils. Although most of the teachers stated that they had changed a lot on both their planned teaching and teaching practice, the majority did not find the teaching, follow-up nor assessment of the pupils too challenging, and most of them were satisfied with their teaching.publishedVersionPaid open acces

Differences in formal education among Norwegian Home Economics teachers

Many Norwegian teachers in Food and Health (Home Economics) do not have any formal subject-specific education. This study aims to explore potential differences between teachers with formal versus no formal Food and Health education. In 2018, Food and Health teachers in all primary and lower secondary schools in Norway were invited to answer a web-based questionnaire. In total, 1170 Food and Health teachers completed the questionnaire. We found several differences between the groups. Most importantly, 49% of the teachers at the secondary school level had formal Food and Health education despite national requirements. Also, a higher proportion of the formally educated group showed more contentment with teaching and reported to a greater extent mastering teaching (p≤0.001) compared to the non-educated group. With higher coverage of formally educated teachers in Food and Health, the subject can be strengthened towards fulfilling its potential of being influential for motivation, knowledge and life skills related to food and health.publishedVersio

The mismatch between teaching practices and curriculum goals in Norwegian Home Economics classes : a missed opportunity

DOI 10.1080/20004508.2020.1816677Current curriculum guidelines emphasise the importance of both nutrition education and the development of practical cooking skills in the school subject Food and Health (FH). This study aimed to explore teachers’ and students’ perspectives and experiences of current classroom practices in FH. Focus group discussions (FGDs) with teachers and students at three schools in Southern Norway were conducted and thematically analysed. Our findings suggest there is a mismatch between curriculum guidelines and teaching practices. Although teachers understood the benefits of nutrition education, practical cooking activities were prioritised. Three key themes were identified; students and teachers value cooking and limited time, which both explain this mismatch from the perspectives of students and teachers, and pedagogical solutions to resolve the mismatch, which summarises novel learning activities suggested by students and teachers as a solution for this mismatch. There needs to be a focus on comprehensive nutrition education in FH classes, to improve its pedagogical implications and meet the demands of the curriculum. These findings can be used to inform educators and policymakers on how to strengthen nutrition education in FH.Peer reviewe

“An unexploited potential” LifeLab Food and Health: Assessment and Development of Teaching and Learning Practices in the Norwegian School Subject Food and Health

Adhering to a healthy diet is key to a healthy life. Furthermore, investing in child and adolescent health has been highlighted as particularly important since it benefits the individual both now and long-term, as well as future generations. Based on this, schools have been identified as a crucial arena to reach this age group. In Norway, the school subject termed Food and Health (FH) educates students in food and nutrition and how this is related to health. Still, there is concern students are not acquiring the competencies highlighted in the curriculum since the number of formally qualified in FH is the lowest among all school subjects. Also, FH classes today primarily focus on cooking and the development of students’ cooking skills, leaving little time for more comprehensive FH education, which contributes to this concern. The aims of this thesis were twofold: first, to map teaching practices in FH in Norway, at the national and school levels, with special emphasis on learning activities, teacher competence, and experiences among FH teachers and students in Norway; second, to develop and test different student-activating learning tasks aiming to strengthen comprehensive FH education. This thesis has been based on four papers. In Papers I and II, an anonymous online questionnaire was developed and distributed to all primary and lower secondary schools in Norway to map FH teachers’ teaching practices, formal competence, and experiences at the national level. In Paper III, focus group discussions (FGDs) with teachers and students were conducted to explore current teaching practices and their experiences of the subject at the school level. The findings from these FGDs, together with the literature on pedagogics, were then used to develop the learning tasks. Finally, for Paper IV, the developed learning tasks were tested at three schools recruited for the project using video recording and observation to collect data.publishedVersio

“Is there any sugar in bread?” A qualitative video analysis of student activating learning tasks in Home Economics

The Norwegian Food and Health (FH) school subject aims to develop students' ability to understand the association between diet and health. Research on FH in Norway indicates that the main focus today is on cooking and the development of practical cooking skills, leaving little emphasis on activities related to the more theoretical aspects of the curriculum. To increase students’ knowledge and skills regarding nutrition and health, we aimed to evaluate three newly developed student-activating learning tasks. Three 6th grade FH classes in Southern Norway participated. Audio and video recording of the learning tasks were used to evaluate the activities. Also, data from focus group discussions with FH teachers and students, which were conducted afterwards, was included in the analysis. By emphasising sociocultural learning and using the skills highlighted as essential in social learning and development as basis for the activities, we found the activities valuable in working with FH. The students’ learning process was stimulated while they engaged with the learning tasks by working in groups, by being active in interaction, dialogue, communication and collaboration, and by being given the opportunity to listen and argue. Language was used as a peda­gogical tool and was central in the students’ learning process. Both the students and their teachers valued the active and practical outline of the learning tasks. We propose a stronger emphasis on practical learning tasks in FH, to strengthen the students’ social learning and thus the learning in the subject, by using this as a pedagogical approach in FH classrooms.Peer reviewe

Harnessing the untapped potential of food education in schools: Nurturing the school subject Food and Health

Abstract Essential life skills related to food and meals have a potential triple dividend for children and adolescents, that is, short‐term, medium‐term and possible generational effects with regard to public health, sustainability and well‐being of future citizens in local communities. While parents and childhood environments are a basis for learning about food and meals, systematic food education in the setting of primary and lower secondary schools may have a significant role that should be utilized more strongly, reaching and benefitting all pupils from a life course perspective. Through this article, we explore the current state of the art of the mandatory school subject Food and Health (FH) from the Nordic perspective. Our leading questions are: (1) What potential is currently utilized and which future potential does FH education have in primary and secondary schools in terms of food education for essential life skills and competencies, and (2) How can this untapped potential be better harnessed with a goal of facilitating better learning in FH? Drawing on data from Norway as a case study, supported by Swedish and Finnish data, we discuss the status, challenges and potential reformation of food education, focusing on FH. This includes perspectives on the prioritization of the FH subject and the organization of more systematic food education in schools, which might improve FH's status and significance. Combining theory–practice, creating room for discussion and focusing less on cooking‐related activities may better facilitate learning in FH. Without proper FH, food education might be nonsystematic, thereby generating unequal outcomes for children and adolescents

Does food and health education in school influence students' everyday life?

Objective: The Norwegian National Action Plan for a Healthier Diet calls for discussion of new ways to communicate health information. An already established and important arena in which to do so is school, in the Food and Health (FH) subject in particular. The aim of this study was to investigate how Norwegian students experience the FH subject, and how they believe it impacts on their everyday lives. Design: Qualitative study using focus group discussions Setting: Three public schools in Norway Methods: Focus group discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results: The students reported the relevance of the school subject FH to their everyday life. However, how much FH was experienced as having impacted on their everyday lives with respect to cooking at home, food choice and food hygiene varied. Conclusions: More research is needed to explore how FH can have a stronger impact on students' actual food choices and cooking practices. This is important in order to tackle contemporary dietary challenges among children and adolescents. Rather than discussing new channels of health education, we suggest that the FH subject area should be strengthened in schools by increasing teachers' competence and focusing more strongly on how best to influence students' food choices.Peer reviewe

Differences in formal education among Norwegian Home Economics teachers

Many Norwegian teachers in Food and Health (Home Economics) do not have any formal subject-specific education. This study aims to explore potential differences between teachers with formal versus no formal Food and Health education. In 2018, Food and Health teachers in all primary and lower secondary schools in Norway were invited to answer a web-based questionnaire. In total, 1170 Food and Health teachers completed the questionnaire. We found several differences between the groups. Most importantly, 49% of the teachers at the secondary school level had formal Food and Health education despite national requirements. Also, a higher proportion of the formally educated group showed more contentment with teaching and reported to a greater extent mastering teaching (p≤0.001) compared to the non-educated group. With higher coverage of formally educated teachers in Food and Health, the subject can be strengthened towards fulfilling its potential of being influential for motivation, knowledge and life skills related to food and health