Project LifeLab Food and Health – Innovative Teaching for the Future: Development of Student Active Learning Tasks for Home Economics Education in the 21st Century

Abstract

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.

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

“…In this perspective paper, 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? In our view, as will be elaborated on later in this paper, the latest research suggests that FH should be reformed to have a stronger role in schools and simultaneously be challenged to renew its pedagogical practice to reach its full potential (Beinert, 2021). Concurrently with this reformation, a critical question remains; how can this potential be better harnessed?…”

“…This will also emphasize the competencies related to critical thinking, discussing, and planning as stated in the curriculum. Therefore, focusing on reforming the subject to consist of a more comprehensive approach to food education has been argued for (Beinert, 2021). Although the current FH curriculum opens for such teaching approaches and learning opportunities, cooking is still a strong part of the competence aims, and traditions dictate how the FH subject is planned in Sweden and Norway (Bohm, 2022a(Bohm, , 2022bHolthe et al, 2013).…”

“…As Beinert et al (2022) propose, the FH subject should have a stronger impact on pupils' food choices, linking it to their current and future lives in accordance with the WHO life skills framework (WHO, 2003) and life course perspective (Black et al, 2022; Hanson & Aagaard‐Hansen, 2021). At present, most knowledge about food and sustainable eating comes from the home or media, whereas schools provide only a small fraction of information on the subject (Beinert, 2021; Höijer, 2013). This might be partially explained by the fact that FH is the smallest subject in the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish schools and because cooking‐related activities are prioritized, as previously described.…”

“…But doing all this in a pedagogically smart way reverses the outcome completely. Theoretical and school‐learned concepts can be better transferred into the practical context of everyday life, thereby becoming more easily understandable, when the learning tasks at school are pupil‐centred and practical (Beinert, 2021), or when the theoretical concepts are operationalized in food preparation tasks during FH lessons. Bohm et al (2016) also highlight theory versus practice as a critical issue in FH.…”

Læring gennem mad og måltider i grundskolen: Teori og praksis fra Danmark, Sverige og Norge

“…Skolefaget mat og helse har en sentral rolle knyttet til livsmestring i relasjon til mat og måltider (Beinert et al, 2021c). Samtidig er også andre skolefag, som kroppsøving, naturfag og samfunnsfag, også viktige i et tverrfaglig perspektiv.…”