Pre‐school staffs’ attitudes toward foods in relation to the pedagogic meal

Abstract

The aim of this study, with the pedagogic meal in focus, was to identify pre‐school staff members’ attitudes to the role of food and meals as part of daily activities at pre‐school. Interviews were carried out at 12 pre‐schools and a total of 34 pre‐school staff participated. The staff revealed strong opinions as well as ambivalence towards how food and meals should best be integrated into their daily work and pedagogic activities. The pre‐school staffs’ lack of or insufficient education and knowledge regarding food and nutrition resulted in an ambivalent and uncertain situation with respect to how they should see themselves as teachers in the meal situation. Nevertheless, most of the staff had a clear perception of what it meant to practice a pedagogic meal. It meant helping and encouraging the children to help themselves and serving as an adult model for the children at table, though this pedagogic activity was uncommon. While the staff were satisfied with the pre‐schools’ role of catering for the children, they expressed concern about or even mistrust towards the children's parents. Despite, or perhaps due to, their inadequate knowledge about food and nutrition and the lack of specific aims for the pedagogic meal, they assumed that the public sector was a better educational institution regarding foods and a better guarantor for children's food habits and dietary intake. As the teachers’ identities have changed over the past years they have not yet found a solid ground for determining how food and meals could be integrated into their everyday work as pre‐school teachers and childminders.

What are student preschool teachers learning about diet in their education in Norway?

“…My findings correspond here with those of a Swedish study, where preschool teachers’ lack of education and knowledge about diet and nutrition resulted in ambivalent attitudes and uncertainty about how they should regard themselves as role models during meals (Sepp et al ., ). Research shows that kindergarten staff do not know how the meals in kindergarten can best be integrated into the daily educational activities (Sepp et al ., ; Thurmann‐Nielsen, ). As Dewey () and Casey and Rozin () argue, everyday actions and situations are essential factors for learning.…”

The influence of the room context in the meal experience: examples from a hospital and a nursery

“…However, some have used the meal as a frame for research about different pedagogic aspects such as communication (Bae 2004; Løkken 2004; Ødegaard 2007). In a Nordic context, the meal has been the frame for research of the adults' attitudes about pedagogical concepts as ‘care’ and ‘education’ (Johansson & Samuelsson 2001) the adults' roles as pedagogue (Sepp et al. 2006) and their images of children (Johansson 2003).…”

“…These factors are important in analysing the experience of the meal, especially in settings like dining rooms at workplaces (Lindén et al. 2005), as well as in nursery settings (Sepp et al. 2006).…”

Prevention of Children Obesity: A Nutrition Education Intervention Model on Dietary Habits in Basic Schools in Chile

“…Other interventions with teachers requires that they must be educated and become aware of the effect of their behavior [25] because they do not always act according to their beliefs in the pedagogic meal situation [26] [27].…”