Food Pedagogy, Food Symposium - What is food about? A new approach for promoting changes in food related behaviour

Abstract

PURPOSE Guidelines suggest food related competency as a measure to develop better and more sustainable eating habits. Norwegian schools have got a new subject, Food and Health. Our purpose is to exemplify coherence in our teaching program and introduce the concept of Food Pedagogy. METHODS Literature research was used to discuss concepts of nutrition, food and "food culture". We arranged a pilot study and wrote a final teaching program for study Food and Health (60ECTS). We are working with evaluative research on this study in pedagogical and action perspectives. Data are collected in students (N=40, so far) papers. We are analyzing students' description of their experience of processes where food pedagogical acting competence is assumed to get developed (content analysis). RESULTS /FINDINGS Our study indicates that an understanding of food rather than emphasizing nutrition in pedagogical sphere of activities makes a difference in learning of the complexity of eating habits. Food is an equivocal concept. The pedagogical consequence to this is food symposium, a situation where students meet - each other and their monitor equally - theoretical knowledge - food as a matter based on bodily sense perception, while working with /preparing, eating and consuming food. - dialog and reflection Students' experiences of food pedagogic seems to support our emphasis on the necessity of new approach, as expressed by a student: "I cannot imagine the subject of Food and Health without the practical part of it". CONCLUSION We are arguing in favor of a interdisciplinary understanding of food as phenomenon, to increase our learning about food-related behavior and eating habits. Food Pedagogy provides some tools to these learningprocesses.