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

DOI 10.1080/20004508.2020.1816677 Current 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 ident…

Changes in dietary pattern in 15 year old adolescents following a 4 month dietary intervention with school breakfast – a pilot study

Abstract Background Few studies on impact of meals served in school have been published. However, implications of school meals are an actual issue of both public and political concern in several countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate if breakfast served in a lower secondary school could improve dietary habits and school performance among the students. Methods All students in 10th grade in a lower secondary school, consisting of two school classes, were invited to participate in a controlled study. The students in one class were offered a free breakfast at the beginning of each school day for 4 months, while the students in the second class were controls. Both classes were ed…

The Covid-19 Pandemic - Experiences and Expectations About Attending International Seminars and Conferences Among Teacher Educators

While the DOI not has been activated yet, the paper can already be read on the JISTE webside: https://journals.library.brocku.ca/index.php/jiste/article/view/4007/ During the Covid-19 pandemic, several international physical face-to-face conferences have been cancelled, and often substituted by online events. This situation may have led to different experiences among teacher educators and influenced their considerations on whether to travel to future conferences. The purpose of this study is to understand what factors are affecting teacher educators’ willingness to attend in-person or online conferences in the future. This study reports findings from an online questionnaire given to a strat…

"Du gjør det, du lærer ikke bare om det". Min vei til dosent i mat og helse

This chapter describes how the author, after a career of teaching the subject food & health (sometimes referred to as home economics) in lower secondary school, became a docent (professor) of the same subject at a university. Her journey included teaching experiences, curriculum development, research work, publishing textbooks, and being awarded a prize for making entrepreneurship a relevant method of teaching the subject. She reveals how she composed her application for promotion and shares with the reader some of the comments of the assessment committee. To conclude, the author describes her vision for the attained professorship.

The challenge of teaching food and health in the first four years of primary school in Norway

Serving of free school lunch to secondary-school pupils – a pilot study with health implications

AbstractObjectiveTo study whether service of a free school lunch has an impact on weight development and food intake among pupils at a lower secondary school, and to assess the association between self-perceived school behaviour and food intake.DesignA controlled intervention study involving service of a free healthy school lunch to 9th grade pupils took place over 4 months, from January to May 2007. Weight and height were measured before and after the intervention. The pupils also completed a short FFQ and a questionnaire concerning self-perceived school behaviour and the classroom environment before and after the intervention. A healthy food score was calculated using the FFQ data.Setting…

Rammefaktorenes betydning for mat- og helseundervisningen på 1.–4. trinn

Mat og helse har kompetansemål etter 4. trinn i norsk grunnskole, men få studier har sett på betydningen av rammefaktorer for undervisningen i mat og helse på barnetrinnet. I denne studien undersøker vi læreres og skolelederes oppfatninger av rammefaktorer og forskjeller mellom skolenes rammefaktorer, som lærerkvalifikasjoner, timeplanfestet undervisning, organisering, budsjett og utstyr. Data ble samlet inn gjennom 24 kvalita­tive intervju, fordelt på 9 med skoleledere og 15 med mat- og helselærere. Intervjuene ble gjennomført på 12 utvalgte praksisskoler fra alle landsdeler i Norge. Til tross for kort undervisningserfaring og manglende studiekompetanse i faget opplever både lærere og lede…