Browsing by Subject "ruokakasvatus"

Aims and objectives. The purpose of this study is to define what primary school teachers find important in food education and how it is present in school and in class. As well as the aforementioned the aim of this study is to, based on the teachers' experience, find out what kind of support and added value primary school teachers get from the Ruuan reitti -learning material, published by Ruokatieto Yhdistys and how the material could be developed further. The theoretical context of this study is compounded of home economics education, the curriculum of home economics education, examination of the learning environment and materials as well as the multidimensionality food education. The research questions are: 1. a) What subjects within food education are important from primary school teachers' point of view? b) How food education is present in their school and in their class? 2. How the Ruuan reitti -learning material supports food education in primary school and what added value does it bring? 3. How would primary school teachers want to change or develop the contents and methods within the learning material? Methods. The nature of this study is qualitative research, which conforms to the principles of case study. The material was compiled using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and observation. Nine primary school teachers from three different schools in the Uusimaa region took part in the study. Analysis of the dataset was executed as a meta-combination of context analysis and systemic textual analysis. Results and conclusions. According to the interviewees the most important aspects of food education are healthiness, food behaviour, environment and day-to-day life of a child. In schools food education is present during school meals, within the curriculum and in class. In class teachers mainly effectuate the themes they themselves find important. According to the results the learning material is a valuable asset and it applies well in to teaching. As the main development proposal teachers were hoping for more complete material and various electric applications like games, tests and videos.

Background: The role of parents in the development of children’s long term eating patterns and food preferences is significant. Although the role of fathers in child upbringing is known to have changed during the past decades, are studies conducted about the role of fathers in food parenting still lacking. Aims: The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about the role fathers have in food parenting and the factors that affect fathers’ food choice motives (FCMs) when making food choices for their children. We examined the nutrition knowledge of fathers, how much they participate in food parenting, what is the food choice motives for fathers when selecting foods for their child and are the importance of different motives explained by the studied factors. Material and methods: The empirical part of the study was conducted by a quantitative study method using a web questionnaire. The FCMs of 281 fathers of 2-6-year-old children was examined by a modified version of Steptoe’s et al. Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). In addition, fathers reported how many times during a normal week they eat together with their children and how often they carry responsibility about the buying and/or preparation of food for their child. Fathers were also asked to answer 12 questions measuring their nutrition knowledge. The FCMs were conducted through principal component analysis. The relationships between variables were examined by non-parametric statistical tests, Spearman -correlation test and linear regression analysis. Results: Health, sensory amiability, nutrition quality and convenience were the key FCMs for fathers in this study. They ate together with their child in average 3 times a day. 77 % of the respondents answered that they carry often or always responsibility of the organization of food for their child. The averaged percentage of answers in line with the recommendations in the nutrition knowledge questions was 73 %. The higher education level was associated with a better nutrition knowledge. The higher importance of the health motive was associated with fathers younger age, living in the metropolitan region and the bigger participation in feeding of the child. The higher the fathers’ nutrition level was, the less their food choices for children was driven by what the child wanted and more by the nutrition level of the food. Conclusion: The fathers in this study are actively involved in the food parenting of children. The FCMs of fathers were for most part in line with previous studies conducted with parents and according to previous literature the FCMs of fathers in this study are supporting the development of healthy eating patterns of children. The causality of the association between nutrition knowledge and the child mood and wants -motive would be an important next step in examining if, by increasing fathers nutrition knowledge, it is possible to drive them into making healthier food choices for their children.

School lunch is an important aspect of food education. A school meal provides energy for the school day, but it is also meant to teach healthy eating habits and good manners. On the other hand, it is a respite in the middle of schoolwork and pupils’ free time along with friends. The basics of the national curriculum outline that school meals are part of the teaching and can also be used to support the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle. However, skipping school lunch is common among high school pupils. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the adolescents’ eating and eating-related practices at school. The focus is on high school pupils who often skip school meals. The aim is to increase the understanding of the phenomenon of non-participation in school lunches. Understanding food-related practices and the justifications for food practices from pupils’ perspective can support the development of food education in a way that better supports adolescents' participation in school lunches. The research topic was approached by means of qualitative research. The data was collected in the beginning of 2017 at one of the schools that participated in the Own Choice -project, funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and implemented by the Youth Academy. The material consists of theme interviews with ten young people aged 13–16. The transcribed data was analysed using thematic analysis and the concept of accounts was used in the interpretation. According to the study, skipping school lunches was associated with many school practices, such as rules, temporal and spatial arrangements, the example of teachers, and the way meals were organized. Living for the moment was characteristic to the pupils' food-related activities during school day. Adolescents explained non-participation in school lunches mainly with personal reasons. The desire for social belonging was a key justification for skipping school lunches, but even more often it led pupils to participate in school meals. Involving students in everyday school practices in a stronger and more diverse way would support participation in meals, but attention should also be paid to the role of teachers as food educators. More effective tools should be developed for teachers, parents, and canteen staff to enable them to support children and youth in different ages to participate in school meals.

Aims. Eating behaviour in early childhood is known to influence the health and well-being throughout life. Factors influencing the formation of children’s food preferences can be either innate or learned. The two most important environments where eating habits are learned are home and preschool. The purpose of this study was to find out what kind of food education is provided at home and in preschool environment. The aim was also to examine the interac-tion between these two environments. This study also examines how child's personality affects food education. This study is a part of a larger DAGIS-research program that investigates the health of preschool aged children. Methods. The study was conducted as a qualitative study. The data was collected by DAGIS-research team by conducting focus groups in autumn 2014. A total of ten discussions were held with 17 parents and 14 preschool personnel. The data was analysed with qualitative content analysis. Theoretical framework of this study was a socioecological model Results and conclusions. The results show that food education at home is mostly executed by parents’ own example during family meals. It was also shown that some parents thought that ”common sense” was the best guideline for food education. Food education was also executed by rules and forbiddances. This study shows that in preschool food education is carried out with the help of peer group and by having shared meal times. Preschool person-nel also highlighted the importance of child’s personality and individuality. The results show that most of the parents and preschool personnel feel that parents are mainly responsible for child’s food education. However there was also a group of parents who thought that preschool has the biggest responsibility of child’s food education. Interaction between home and preschool seems to be quite minimal and superficial.

Food waste is a global problem with both ecological and economic impacts. The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives from which food waste content is themed in Kotiliesi magazines in 2000, 2010 and 2021. Throughout its history, Kotiliesi has provided its readers with food-related content and advice. In this study, Kotiliesi magazine is seen as a household food educator. The purpose of the study is to interpret what kind of food education habits can be identified in the background of the food waste content of Kotiliesi magazines. Research shows that a large proportion of food waste is generated in common households and it is therefore important to understand what kind of food waste-related content and food education practices can be found in the magazine available to all Finns. The data for this study consisted of annual issues of Kotiliesi magazines from 2000, 2010 and 2021. As not all magazines contained food waste related content, the data was finally limited to 25 magazines with a total of 30 articles. The data was analysed using theory-based content analysis. Based on the literature review, three different perspectives on the background of food waste reduction practices in the Kotiliesi magazines were identified. The economic perspectives dealt with the financial savings from food waste, the ecological perspectives on the environmental impact of food waste and the moral perspectives on the perceived legitimacy of food waste. Against the background of these food waste reduction practices, the literature review identified three different approaches to food education. The majority of the content on food waste in the Kotiliesi magazines was instructional in general, with an emphasis on 'eating right' and 'doing right'. There was also some food waste content written in a presumptive way, where the reader was assumed to have prior knowledge and skills on the subject, and the magazine used simple or superficial language. In addition to the advisory and presumptive style, a planning style was identified in the magazines with an emphasis on planning and preparedness, mostly related to food preparation practices and food preservation. The study provided new insights into the food waste-related content of Kotiliesi magazines from different decades and the underlying food education practices.

Childrens and adolescents relationship with food can be supported in various pedagogical methods. Previous research suggests that childrens and adolescents relationship with food can be supported by positive interaction and by emphasizing the pleasurable aspect of eating. The suggested approach can be understood with food and eating relationship framework. The framework is developed by Talvia and Anglé (2018), whose aim is to guide educators on how to fulfil the food and nutrition educational needs of putting the diverse relationship with food and eating into practice. In this study the food and eating relationship framework is applied to home economics teachers perceptions on supporting pupils’ relationship with food. The theoretical framework of this study is based on previous research of food education and attitudes towards food. Previous research takes place on the fields of nutritional science and home economics. A qualitative research was utilized in this study. The data consists of six virtual interviews of home economics teachers. Teachers expressions that are associated with supporting pupils’ relationship with food and eating were first separated from the data. The expressions were analysed and categorized with content analysis methods. The analysis yielded four main categories of which represent home economics teachers perceptions on how to support pupils’ relationship with food. The main categories are offering mental support for the pupil, utilizing positive pedagogy in teaching, creating a safe atmosphere in the learning environment and increasing pupils’ knowledge on the impacts of food and eating. In this study the home economics teachers experience that they can support pupils’ relationship with food in various pedagogical means. According to the results, home economics teachers find both teachers and peers contribution being a meaningful part of supporting pupils’ relationship with food. Both teachers and peers are expected to accept and allow different relationships with food and eating. The whole group is expected to offer mental support for peers and teachers find guiding pupils towards this as their task. Results suggest that home economics teachers find pedagogical skills even more important than home economics skills when the aim is to support pupils’ relationship with food and eating. Area for further research would be how the teachers pedagogical skills promote pupils’ relationship with food and eating.

The aim of the study was to examine the views of home economics teachers on the use of school meals as part of home economics education. The study explored the opportunities and barriers that home economics teachers perceived in the teaching of home economics linked to school meals. Also of interest were the views of home economics teachers on the common themes and objectives of home and school meals. Previous research has shown that school meals and home economics education have similar objectives, for example in terms of food and sustainability education. It is therefore necessary to deepen our understanding of the potential for this kind of cooperation in the field of growth. The theoretical background of the study is based on the concept of food education, as previous research has argued that it can be used to structure the ways in which food education can be implemented. In this study, the concept of food sense was used to support the analysis. The levels of food sense were used to clarify the views of home economics teachers on the use of school food themes in their teaching. The data for the study was collected through five paired interviews, i.e. a total of ten home economics teachers participated in the study. The interviews were conducted remotely in Zoom. The data were analysed using data and theory-based content analysis. The home economics teachers perceived school meals and home economics education as combining activities such as encouraging sustainable and healthy eating habits, practising interaction skills and learning about food cultures. In their view, school meals can be used as part of the home economics curriculum, for example by commissioning school food surveys, participating in projects or competitions, designing posters, running food councils and discussing related topics with pupils. The obstacles to the implementation of home economics education linked to school meals perceived by teachers included time constraints, the activities of the catering services and the existence of teaching documents. Better integration of school meals into education would require systemic and institutional changes, in particular. In order to support the development of food sense in home education, further research on the learning process for food sense in the context of home education should be carried out.

Aims. Eating is an important part of well-being during the work day. Working at school and the new school eating recommendations advise teachers to eat school lunch with students and show example to them. Home economics as a subject affect eating of home economics teachers as there is often prepared food at lessons and the teacher acts as a food educator. There are only few studies about teachers eating during work day and the earlier school lunch studies are focused on students’ perspective. The aim of this study was to find factors that effect on home economics teachers’ eating during work day and bring out the teachers’ experiences about eating. The purpose was also to find out home economics teachers’ views about connection between their own eating and food education. Methods. The data of this qualitative study was collected by half-structured theme interviews. In total 12 home economics teachers from different parts of Finland participated in this research. Interviews were executed in November and December 2016. The data was analysed with qualitative content analysis and narrative analysis. Theoretical framework of this study consisted of food choice and food behavior models and previous studies from workplace eating. Results and conclusions. The results followed earlier studies about food choice. The results of this study showed that eating time, food cost, food environment, convenience, food taste and quality, well-being during work day and school as a working place were the factors had influence on eating of the home economics teachers. The participant teachers of this study experienced that eating was quite easy to fit to the work day rhythm and the teachers were mainly satisfied to their eating during the work day. The home economics teachers’ own eating came out only for those teachers who ate daily at school restaurant or teachers who ate at home economic lessons with students. The results showed that the home economics teachers’ own eating is not the most essential way to execute food education as they execute food education a lot for example by talking and showing enthusiasm. By means of this study it is possible to support teachers’ eating during work day and improve the use of school restaurant by developing the factors which affect eating.

Previous studies show that secondary school students participate in school meals in varying degrees. School meals are an important part of students ’school day as they are present at school every day. School meals are part of food education on basic education. With school lunch, students gain energy for study and they can better focus on teaching and learning. However, in many cases, convenience store products attract students more than food served at school. Research objective: The aim of this qualitative case study is to find out what different factors emerge from the students' method of empathy in the texts in relation to school meals. The aim was to find the various reasons raised by the students, which are why they either stay at the school to eat school lunch or go to the convenience store instead. The research questions of the study are: 1. How do students justify staying in to eat school lunch? 2. In what ways do students justify not staying in school meals? Methods. 7th grade students from one unified school in southern Finland participated in the study (N = 127). Data collection was carried out using the empathy method. There were two frame stories, in one of which the student experienced a situation where he went to a convenience store instead of attending school lunch, and in the other he stayed at the school himself to eat despite going to the friends' shop. The material was analyzed by data-driven content analysis. Results and conclusions. The most common reasons for students to stay in school to eat were the food served, the cause-and-effect relationship related to school rules, the healthiness of food, and money. The reasons for going to the store were most often the food served, the friends, the products from the store and the content of the break. The main themes that emerged from the data were ‘Top-down rules and regulations’, ‘Youth-related issues’ and ‘Student-related issues’. In future the research result can be utilized in home economics education and in the development of school meals.

Tavoitteet. Lasten osallisuuden edistäminen on varhaiskasvatuksen keskeisimpiä tavoitteita. Aiempien tutkimusten mukaan lasten osallisuus ei kuitenkaan toteudu riittävällä tasolla, ja etenkin perushoidollisissa tilanteissa lasten vaikuttamismahdollisuudet ovat heikot. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, millaisia lapsen osallisuutta edistäviä käytänteitä ruokailutilanteissa toteutetaan, ja millaiset tekijät rajoittavat lasten osallisuutta ruokailutilanteissa varhaiskasvatuksen opettajien, erityisopettajien ja sosionomien kertomana. Menetelmät. Tämä tutkimus on luonteeltaan laadullinen. Aineisto kerättiin verkkokyselylomakkeella, joka jaettiin varhaiskasvatuksen opettajille suunnatussa sosiaalisen median ryhmässä. Aineiston analyysimenetelmänä käytettiin sisällönanalyysia. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että lasten osallisuutta edistävissä käytänteissä ruokailutilanteissa painottuu lasten mahdollisuus päätöksentekoon, omatoimisuuden harjoittelemiseen, sekä kulttuuristen ja sosiaalisten tietojen ja taitojen omaksumiseen. Lapsia myös kannustetaan ja rohkaistaan syömiseen. Korona-pandemiasta johtuvat hygieniaohjeistukset koettiin huomattavasti lapsen osallisuutta heikentävänä tekijänä ruokailutilanteissa. Tulosten mukaan myös henkilökunnan ja vanhempien näkemykset, sekä yhteisen kielen puute koettiin lapsen osallisuutta heikentäväksi tekijöiksi.