Browsing by study line "Home Economics Teacher"

The aim of this study is to analyze how facilities and the role of time affect practises in coo-king and dining in the second home. The theoretical framework of this study is based on pre-vious studies of second home living and eating practices. It seems that the busy lifestyle causes reduction of time spent in cooking and eating together. On the other hand, previous studies also show that the second home living acts as a counterweight for busy citylife. The studies related to eating practices are mostly focused on everyday life while ingnoring the in-habitants of second homes. This study takes part to the discussion about second home living, cooking and dining by studying cooking and eating practises. In the previous studies this sub-ject has not been studied from this point of view. The study was executed by utilizing qualitative methods. A thematic interview was used for research material collection. The research material consists of twelve interviews of indivi-duals that spend regularly time in their second homes. The research material was analyzed in a material-based content analysis. The research results show that the more free opportunities to use time are a remarkable fac-tor in cooking and dining in the second home. The results also refer that there was time for cooking in the second home and the food was always prepared from ingredients if it was possible. Because of the conditions in the second home and to save time various methods are utilized to make cooking easier. The results show that there is a strive to dine together and without hurry in the second home. The results also tell of the meanings of cooking and dining in the second home. As a conclusion it can be said that the greater availability of time has a remarkable effect on cooking and dining practises in the second home. The results of this study can be used as guidelines for further studies on eating practices and their impor-tance in second home living.

The purpose of this research was to figure out how COVID-19 has affected food purchases, making everyday meals, and using restaurant services amongst families with kids. The theoretical framework consists of execution of everyday dining and planning, formation of food choices and food shopping and also importance of eating out. According to previous studies, everyday dining is usually quite a busy and it demands quick solutions. Eating with family in peace is more common at weekends than on weekdays and planning has been shown as important factor in everyday life. In addition, the theoretical framework deals with eating out and the importance of school or work catering to Finnish food culture. Although COVID-19 is quite new as a research topic, theory of this research consists also of some of the most important effects of the Corona pandemic, for example from the perspective of consumption. The need for this research is the topicality and importance of this topic. The research questions were: What kind of effects the Corona pandemic and its limitations have had on eating in everyday life? What kind of effects the Corona pandemic and its limitations have had on food purchasing on everyday life? What kind of effects the Corona pandemic and its limitations have had on the usage of restaurant services? This study was carried out with qualitative research and the data was collected using a thematic and stimulus interview. The respondents were mainly found from a Facebook group, that is targeted for families living in the center of Helsinki. The interviews were carried out using Zoom and there were five mothers and one father in the study. The research data was first transcribed and then analyzed with thematizing and content analysis. According to results of this research, there was need for making everyday life easier during the Corona pandemic. Food planning has increased, as well as food preparation and its demands. There were also new methods for buying food and motives for usage of restaurant services. Increased planning and cooking were experienced as burdensome. To make everyday life easier, families typically used semi-processed food products and food delivery services, especially at the beginning of the pandemic. Motives for eating out were different than before COVID-19, because eating out was more likely to make everyday life easier. Results shows that ordering groceries was more common among the studied families but demands for cooking have also increased during the pandemic. These effects require important skills, for examples planning, control of everyday life and craftsmanship which are taught in home economics lessons. The changes in food purchases and food choices in unexpected situations, like the Corona pandemic, may also gain more value in the future’s home economics teaching.

Food is associated with many social practices and symbolic meanings that are culturally bound, separating and connecting members of culture. By studying food cultures, one can gain a deeper understanding of the society of the country in question, the deep structures of the culture and the history of the country. As culture constantly changes with society, so does food culture and its manifestations. As communication technology takes over the sector as a form of social interaction, food cultures are also increasingly shifting to social media as food images serve as a means of communication. This research falls into the fields of cultural research, visual culture research, and food culture research. The aim of the study is to try to find features typical of Finnish and Japanese food culture in social media food images. As the research material consists of a list of pictorial materials, it is also rewarding to look at the aesthetic content that food images contain and how the layout and content of the image are affected by the fact that the food images have been produced for publication in social media. The study emphasizes the cultural-historical approach as the factor that has most shaped Finnish and Japanese food culture. The research material consisted of food images produced by 6 people, of which there were a total of 30. Half of the research subjects and food images represented Finnish food culture and half Japanese food culture. To support the analysis of the images, the subjects' own comments on the food images of their choice were used. This is a qualitative study in which the material was analyzed by means of content analysis. Content analysis was combined with semiotic image analysis, in which reality is interpreted based on the characters and codes present in the images. An even more marginal aspect of socio-semiotics is represented by the social nature of the research material as part of the ways in which people communicate in social media. Despite the small research data, the research provided indications of typical elements that occur in Finnish and Japanese food culture. These include typical ingredients, food rations, cooking methods, and aesthetic perceptions. In Finnish food culture, emphasis was placed on simple dishes that have taken a lot of influence from other countries. Japanese food culture emphasized the preservation of traditions and the use of domestic raw materials.

The purpose of this study is to observe the effect of Covid-19 epidemic to the everyday life and the work-life balance among young adults. Work is a significant part of a person’s every-day life. Individualisation of working hours stands out in the current work life. Therefore, the need for finding the work-life balance increases. Work-life balance is seen to be a main factor, whereby the employee is able to stabilize the demands becoming from work and leisure. The exceptional global circumstances with Covid-19 epidemic have suddenly affected people’s everyday life and ways of working during the year 2020. Majority of Finnish employees were forced to move to remote work due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The remote work makes it even more challenging to maintain the border between work and leisure time. In addition, people were required to adapt their everyday life due to the health threatening virus. This research applies qualitative methodology. The data were collected by using the theme interview method. Six young adults took part in the interview. All interviews were carried out during September and October in 2020. In addition to the interview the interviewees were asked to describe their normal day during Covid-19 epidemic with a timeline. The timeline was used to support the interviews according to the stimulated recall Interview method. The interview recordings were transcribed word for word and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Hermeneutic-phenomenological approach was also applied in this research. The significance of routines stood out in the everyday life during Covid-19 epidemic. Certain everyday routines were shattered due to the epidemic, while people were forced to adapt their ways of working and free time activities. Despite this, other daily routines were considered as a resource to manage in the crisis. Especially the continuing of work was seen as an important factor in the Covid-19 crisis. Work and leisure time activities were overlapping more flexibly during the Covid-19 epidemic. On the other hand, it was considered important to make a clear boundary between work and leisure time in the end of the day.

Objectives. Home economics education should establish action which tackles challenges and opportunities related to daily life and digital tools. Previous studies have shown that the most important predictors of home economics teachers’ information and telecommunication technology use are the teacher-level factors of digital competence, perceived usefulness of information and telecommunication technology in home economics teaching and the school-level support. In addition, there is a connection between perceived usefulness of information and telecommunication technology in home economics teaching and its use for facilitating pupils’ learning. This study investigates use of digital tools in home economics teaching, in a sense of what kind of experiences and perceptions home economic teachers’ and teacher students’ have. Thus, finding out how digital tools are used in home economics teaching and which factors have an impact to pedagogical decisions. Methods. This study combines two types of data, thus being a mixed-methods study. Data was collected by a questionnaire from Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Estonian home economics teachers and teacher students (n222). 1) Qualitative data was analysed by using thematic analysis, but only using Finnish home economics teachers’ and teacher students’ responses. 2) Part of qualitative data was quantified by using Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Estonian respondents’ answers. 3) Quantitative data was analysed by using SPSS-program. Means, standard deviations, t-tests and cross-tabulations were calculated from the data. Results and conclusions. Home economics teachers and teacher students used digital tools particularly to ease teachers work tasks and to support pupils’ learning. By respondents’ experiences digital tools bring value to teaching and the use of digital tools is favourable. Home economics studies have supported and encouraged teacher students to use digital tools, but there is need for further and greater support in the future, especially at teacher training.

The objective of the study was to clarify how animal rights view and animal-protection appears in the adolescents´ perceptions of animals´ use in food production. In the animal rights view animals´ use is critically examined, whereas animal-protection focuses on the animal welfare without challenging animals´ use itself. Animal rights view was examined by two animal philosophic theories, preference utilitarianism and animal rights theory. In the examination of the animal-protection views utilitarianism and the ambivalence of the human-animal relationship served as a theory. The connection of diet followed by the young people to their views was also examined, because the earlier study shows that following vegan and vegetarian diet supports animal rights view more strongly, whereas the omnivore´s animal ethical views are multiple. Animal ethics has been presented to be added to the contents of the home economics subject, because it is strongly related to today's sustainability- and food education. The data of the study was collected as a part of a survey that was published in Helsingin Sanomat in March 2020. The analysis focused on the age group 15–25. Material included answers to one open question about animals' welfare and rights in food production. The material was qualitatively analysed by using thematic analyses. As a result, five themes were found: questioning of the animals' use, criticism of factory farming, promotion of welfare, defence of the Finnish production and defence of eating meat. The first two represented the animal rights view. Respondents questioning animals´ use considered using animals ethically problematic, whereas in the criticism of the factory farming the animals' intensive production was resisted but not animals' use itself. The animal-protection view appeared as a desire to promote the welfare on farm animals without criticising structures of the food production. The defenders of the Finnish production considered that the welfare is coming true well enough in Finland. A small group did not consider paying attention to the animals' rights and welfare at all important. Animal rights view was most common among vegans, which supports previous studies. Results can be utilized in the planning of teaching materials about farm animal welfare and rights.

Aims. The aim of this master’s thesis was to find out usage of S-Group’s carbon footprint calculator among consumers of Osuuskauppa Hämeenmaa. The second aim of this thesis was to gain deeper understanding of consumers’ carbon footprint calculator usage and to find factors which increase consumers’ interest towards climate-friendly food. Research questions in this thesis were: 1. How do consumers use the carbon footprint calculator? 2. What do consumers think about climate-friendly food? 3. How could consumers be supported towards climate-friendly food? Methods. The data of the study was collected through an online survey that was published in Osuuskauppa Hämeenmaa’s Facebook-page on late June 2022. Material included answers to mandatory multiple-choice questions and answers to one voluntary open question. The online survey received 266 answers. The quantitive material was analysed using descriptive methods. The material from open answers was analysed using material-based content analysis. Results and conclusions. Overall consumers were concerned about the climate impact of their food choices. Consumers experienced changing their food choices as an interesting way to affect climate change and their carbon footprint. Sometimes consumers paid attention to the climate impact of their food choices while purchasing food. However, consumers felt unable to influence climate change with their buying behavior. The carbon footprint calculator was not being used in everyday life or it was rarely used even though it was felt to be useful when trying to choose climate-friendly products. The carbon footprint calculator was not felt to have affected food purchases. Consumers felt that grocery stores should provide more support for climate-friendly choices. For the most part, consumers experienced changing their usual habits difficult and some consumers would have needed more information and time to make climate-friendly choices. However, customers did not directly feel the need for support from others. The carbon footprint calculator alone does not seem to help consumers make climate-friendly choices. To make climate-friendly choices consumers would need more support.

Meat production has a number of negative effects on the environment, the climate and the welfare of farm animals. In addition, the consumption of red meat and meat products in particular is linked to a number of lifestyle diseases and certain types of cancer. In Finland, meat is consumed in excess regarding recommendations, and most Finns are not ready to give up eating meat altogether. Studies have shown that people perceive meat as natural, normal, necessary and comfortable. In other words, meat is perceived as food that people want to consume. Health reasons and ethical reasons most often motivate the transition to a vegetarian diet. In addition, ecological reasons have been identified as an important motive for the partial reduction of meat intake. This study examined how meat and it’s substitutes are part of the everyday eating of Finns and what changes have taken place in the consumption of meat and vegetable proteins in 2013 and 2020. The topic is approached with a qualitative research approach, which also includes quantitative features due to the large data size. The material in my research is in two parts; the first sub-dataset contains 485 food day descriptions from 2013 and the second sub-dataset contains 445 food day descriptions from 2020. The main method of data analysis is theory-driven content analysis. In the data, most of the respondents consumed meat or fish during their day. However, in the 2020 data set, holding a vegetarian food day was slightly more common, and plant proteins were consumed more variably than in the 2013 data set. Consuming meat turned out to be an everyday and easy choice based on the data. The most common reasons for reducing meat consumption were the desire to eat healthier, more ecologically and ethically. In addition, in the 2020 data, the choice of vegetarian food was influenced by the ease of cooking and the taste of the food. Many respondents said they were concerned about the climate and animal rights and were actively working towards a more vegetarian diet. Based on this study, the shift toward a more vegetable based diet has occurred fairly effortlessly and naturally. However, a discrepancy between knowledge, attitudes and practice can be identified in the respondents 'descriptions of the food day, as the respondents' attitudes are practically realized in only some of the descriptions of the food day. According to this study, meat consumption is not polarized, and the majority of respondents fall into the middle ground in terms of meat-related values ​​and consumption habits. In addition, the majority of respondents were positive about the plant-based nature of food. According to a previous study, a mere positive attitude may not be reflected in consumption at a practical level, which is why new ways are needed in the future to support consumers' shift towards a vegetarian diet.

The aim of the study was to find out how the recipes for fish published in Kotiliesi magazine in different eras have changed in the period 1936–2004. In the past, domestic lake fish and Baltic herring were common food sources in Finland, depending on geographical location. Fresh fish was a seasonal food and the fish was preserved by salting. From the 1950s onwards, the change in the structure of Finnish society and the proliferation of refrigerators and freezers made it possible to consume fresh and frozen fish in an unprecedented way. Instead of household fishing, fish was bought from the store when it was frozen or farmed to an increasing extent. The study examines how the food guidelines for fish published in Kotiliesi in different eras have changed and how the changes in the structure of Finnish society are reflected in the fish guidelines. According to previous research, Norwegian salmon is widely consumed by the turn of the 21st century, and the status of Finnish herring has collapsed. The study was a qualitative history study, and the material used in the study was Kotiliesi magazines of different eras to study the change in fish consumption in Finland, especially from a home economics perspective. 1936, 1958, 1976 and 2004 volumes of Kotiliesi magazine were used as research material. The re-organized research material covered a total of 59 magazines, which utilized fish instructions and fish-related articles. The material was analyzed by means of qualitative content analysis. Changed structure of fish guidelines, changes in fish species and processing rates, urbanization and purchased fish, increased living standards and prosperity, and internationalization are found themes. The fish instructions published in Kotiliesi have changed over the decades to a modern, industrial form and can be interpreted without previous cooking experience. The fish species that appeared in the instructions have changed so that Baltic herring and lake fish have changed to frozen fish and salmon. At the same time, the degree of processing of the fish has changed from whole to filleted. As a result of urbanization, fish was bought from the store instead of household fishing. The increase in living standards and prosperity made it possible to preserve fresh and frozen fish, so that salted fish was no longer used. In the internationalized market, Norwegian salmon fillet is an affordable choice when shopping for fish and there are plenty of instructions on how to make it easy.

The aim of this study is to examine what kind of discourses can be found in the public expert debate in the news media and in the public lay discourse from the news media comment field regarding the Milk Myths campaign. Milk has a historically strong position in Finnish food culture, and because of this Milk Myths campaign has caused a stir. The theoretical framework of the dissertation is related to Finnish food culture, its tension and changes, food policy and food in media discussions. The topic is strongly connected to the Finnish food culture and its tensions. The changes and tensions in the food culture are notoriously discussed and may create confrontations between interlocutors. The research questions are: 1 What kind of discourses can be found in the expert speech related to Oatly’s Milk Myths campaign in the news media? 2 What kind of discourses can be found in the public debate about Oatly’s Milk Myths campaign? The material for the dissertation was three news articles and one news comment field based on Milk Myths campaign. The news articles were found in Helsingin Sanomat, Iltalehti and MTV. The comment field was related to Helsingin Sanomat’s news coverage Milk Myths campaign. The data was analyzed using discourse analysis. The discourses found in the news material were named health, environmental and economic discourses, as well as a discourse of confrontation. The discourses found in the public debate were named the discourses on the defense of milk and animal welfare, as well as the discourse on a boycott, the environment and Finnishness. In conclusion, the discourses found the research were tense both internally and with other discourses. The discourse was as polarized and dichotomous as the discourse found in previous studies regarding food wars.