School meals – a feeding or a learning project?

Author(s):

Monica CarlssonMonica Carlsson(presenting / submitting)Lone Lindegaard Nordin

Conference:

ECER 2011

Network:

8. Research on Health Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

08 SES 09, Health Education, School Meals and Pupil Participation: Challenges and Dilemmas

Paper Session

Time:

2011-09-15

10:30-12:00

Room:

J 27/14,G, 69

Chair:

Venka Simovska

Contribution

Food and school meals has for more than 100 years been on the agenda in the Danish primary school system, understood both as ’feeding projects’ and as health education projects. Healthy school meals and childrens’ foodhabits and health is debated regurlarly, as a part of the health political agenda (Health Board 1998, 2003), and different intervention projects has been implemented in the schools. This paper presents findings from a casestudy aimed at evaluating the effect of a free school lunch intervention on pupils’ well-being, development of competence, and the learning environment in schools (Benn, et al., 2009). The casestudy is a part of a project evaluating a school lunch intervention in all in all 36 schools in 2008, financed by the Danish ministry of foods (Mikkelsen & Husby 2010). The guidelines for the intervention prescribed that it had to based on healthy foods, and to involve activitites in relation to food and health. A review of litrature undertaken in the start of the casestudy concluded that school meal interventions on their own accord, doesn’t seem to have a positive effect on pupils’ learning (Hesselvig Mortensen et al., 2009), but that school meal interventions based on pupils’ participation have a positive effect on pupil’s well-being and on the learning environment in schools. The analytical framework in the paper is inspired by theoretical constructs such as ’a proper meal’ (Douglas, 1975; Murcott, 1986), ’food for me’ (Lewin, 1951), and on a theory about the choices individuals and institutions are facing when it comes to food - e.g. health vs. taste, and care vs. convienance (Warde, 1997). In relation to childrens’ competences the study is drawing on a competence concept including four dimensions (Benn,1996) – refering to cognitive, affective and social aspects of learning (Illeris 2007): ”To know” (e.g. about different food choices), ”to do” (e.g. to choose a healthy meal), ”to want” (e.g. to participate in decitions on food choices), and ”to be” (e.g. to care about and accept other peoples food preferences). Childrens’ participation is analyzed through a model inspired by Hart (1997), and Simovska et al. (2009), that combines different levels and areas of participation.

Method

The casestudy was conducted at four schools offering free school meals for eight weeks, and schools were selected on the basis of size, geography and school meal organization. At each school four single and four focus-groups interviews were carried out with pupils from grades 5 to 7 and from grades 8 to 9. Single interviews were carried out with the class teacher and headmaster and/or the person responsible for the school meals. Interviews were guided by semi-structured interview guidelines and fully transcribed. Furthermore participatory and semi-structured observations at the lunch breaks were carried out, focusing on the school meals, the physical and estetical conditions, and the social interaction between teacher and pupils and between pupils. A first analysis aiming at exploring each schools experiences with the school meals was undertaken, and presented in four case study reports. The cross-case analysis presented in this paper is based on the findings in the final case study report (Benn et al. 2009), and focuses on the pupils’ concepts of and experiences with the school lunches, and on their competences in relation to food and health.

Expected Outcomes

In their reflections on a good school lunch, the pupils emphaisize food quality: it should taste good, make them full, be healthy and variated. A school cafeteria, where warm food is served on a plate, or were they can take food from a saladbar, was one of the visions they expressed. These reflections indicate that both food quality, food choice and social aspects of eating together are important for the pupils. The paper points out that school lunches seems to improve pupils' well being, and that the inervention has lead to that the schools became more aware of learning and well-being potentials in school meals. The paper concludes that, although the interventions did not include or was related to teaching about food and health, and the involvement of teachers and pupils not optimal, there seems to be a learning potential in the school meal interventions. The analysis indicates that the pupils have developed knowledge and skills related to having tried new food and dishes. Development of affective and socio-cultural aspects of learning could also be identified – aspects related to the pupils’ experiences with and critical reflection on new dishes, and their experience with eating the same food together in the class.

References

Benn, J. (2009): Food, meals and nutrition – is it the same. Childrens’ and young peoples’ understandings and experiences in the food area. I: Carlsson, M., Simovska, V. & Jensen, B.B. (red.): Health education and health pronotion. Theory, research and practice. (Sundhedspædagogik og sundhedsfremme. Teori, forskning og praksis.) Århus, Aarhus Universitetsforlag: 193-210. Benn, J., Carlsson, M., Lindegaard Nordin, L., Hesselvig Mortensen, L. (2009): Does schoolmeals give nutrition for learning? Learning environment, well-being and comptence. (Giver skolemad næring for læring? Læringsmiljø, trivsel og kompetence.) (www.dpu.dk) Douglas, M. (1975); Descpihering a meal. I: Douglas, M.: Implicit meanings. Essays in anthropology. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Hart, R.A. (1997): Children’s participation: the theory and practice of involving young citizens in community development and environmental care. London: Earthscan. Hesselvig Mortensen, L.; Benn, J., Lindegaard Nordin, L., Carlsson, M. (2009): School meals effect on learning and readiness to learn. (Skolemadens effekt på læring og undervisningsparathed). Unpublished review. Illeris, K. (2006): Learning. (Læring) Frederiksberg: Roskilde Universitetsforlag. Lewin, K. (1951): Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper & Row. Mikkelsen, B.E. & Husby, S. (2010) The Evius project – concluding report. (www.evius.aau.dk). Murcott, A.(1986): ‘Opening the “Black Box”; Food, Eating and Household Relationships’. Socioaaliliaaketieellinen Aikakauslehti; 23,2: 85-92 Simovska, V., Jensen, B.B., Carlsson, M., and Albeck. C. (2006). Shape Up: Towards childrens’ and young peoples’ participation in health. Barcelona: P.A.U. Education. Health board (Sundhedsstyrelsen) (1998): Report from a strategy conference. Children, food and meals. (Rapport fra en strategikonference. Børn, mad & måltider. København. Sundhedsstyrelsen.) Health board (Sundhedsstyrelsen) (2003): The municipality’s responsability and possibilities in relation to childrens and young peoples’ health. Kommunens ansvar og muligheder i forhold til børn og unges sundhed København: Sundhedsstyrelsen. Warde, A. (1997): Consumption, food and taste. Culinary antinomies and commodity culture. London: Sage Publications.

Author Information

Monica Carlsson

Aarhus University

Danish School of Education

Copenhagen

Monica Carlsson (presenting / submitting)

Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark

Lone Lindegaard Nordin

Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark

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