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Skolefagsundersøkelsen 2011 gir oppdatert kunnskap om ulike sider ved skulefaga kroppsøving, kunst og handverk, mat og helse og musikk slik desse blir praktiserte på barnesteget i den norske grunnskulen. Innsamlinga av data er gjort gjennom ei nasjonal nettbasert omfattande undersøking retta mot praktiserande lærarar på barnesteget. Rapporten byggjer på ein analyse av 794 svar frå desse lærarane gjennomført av ei tverrfagleg forskargruppe ved Høgskulen Stord/Haugesund og Høgskolen i Bergen. Metodiske spørsmål er gjort greie for og drøfta i første kapitlet i rapporten. I kapittel 1 ”Metode eller danningsfag? Lærarperspektiv på praktiske og estetiske fag på barnesteget” blir det fokusert på det som er felles for faga. I kapittel 2 ”Kroppsøving på barnesteget – vektlegging av leik og rørsleglede” ser ein nærare på læraroppfatningar av kroppsøvingsfaget. Kapittel 3 ”Kunst og håndverk i barneskolen – et fag i oppløsning?” drøftar resultat frå undersøkinga i et faghistorisk perspektiv, og kapittel 4 ”Mat og helse på barnetrinnet – praktisk men ennå ikke kreativt” peikar på at faget på dette steget først og fremst framstår som et praktisk fag. I det siste kapitlet i rapporten, ”Musikkfaget på barnesteget – eit redusert musikkfag?”, drøftar forfattarane om et lite fag er blitt ennå mindre gjennom det valet av læringsaktivitetar lærarane synes å leggja opp til.

De nasjonale retningslinjene for mat og måltider i barnehagen er et viktig element i den nasjonale folkehelsepolitikken. For å styrke implementeringen av retningslinjene kan barnehagene inngå forpliktende samarbeid gjennom partnerskap.

Doktoravhandling i samfunnsvitenskap Introduction Healthy eating is an important factor in children’s health and academic performance. Children and adolescents eat at least one daily meal at school and school meals represent a considerable part of their overall diet. Therefore, governments are encouraged to adopt policies that support healthy diets at school and that limit the availability of products high in salt, sugar, and fats. As part of the national policy on diet and nutrition, the Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs published guidelines in 2003 for healthy school meals in primary and secondary schools. The overall aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the Norwegian guidelines for healthy school meals in three secondary schools, with a specific focus on how individual and organizational factors interacted with and influenced this implementation. Methods This study was based on a multiple-case design with an exploratory approach. Data were collected at three secondary schools in Norway that had participated in the intervention project Physical activity and healthy school meals. A comprehensive approach to the sources of data was chosen, and the sources consisted of baseline questionnaires, observations, interviews, and documents. Individual interviews were conducted with school principals and project leaders, and focus group interviews were conducted separately with teachers and students. The data were analysed using a case-oriented strategy (Miles & Huberman, 1994) and a variable-oriented strategy (Miles & Huberman, 1994). 3 Results Paper 1 describes the degree of implementation achieved in terms of adherence, exposure, quality of delivery, and weekly revenue. The factor that was most important for the implementation of the guidelines was the construction of an innovation-specific organizational capacity through an organizational infrastructure, particularly by the allocation of financial and human resources, the adjustment of food and beverages available and strong leadership support. Paper 2 reports the barriers to the implementation of the national guidelines for healthy school meals as perceived by the principals, project leaders, teachers, and students. Four categories of barriers were identified: (1) the lack of adaptation of the guidelines to the target group, (2) the lack of resources and funding, (3) conflicting values and goals, and (4) access to unhealthy food outside the school. These findings suggest that there are differences in the barriers perceived by the staff, who are responsible for the implementation of the intervention, and the students, who are the target group. Paper 3 reports how physical structures, represented by (i) the type of consumer products, (ii) the availability of facilities in the school buildings, and (iii) the students’ access to neighbourhood facilities, contributed to the availability of food and beverages consistent with the national guidelines. The findings suggest that the degree of implementation was influenced by the type of consumer products available, the facilities in the school buildings, and the regulation of access to neighbourhood facilities. A lack of adequate canteen facilities influenced the selection of food on offer, food safety, and capacity. Conclusion This thesis shows that implementation is a complex process, which influenced the extent to which three schools met the Norwegian national guidelines for healthy school meals. The findings suggest that the schools’ intentions regarding the implementation of the guidelines 4 were mainly focused on enabling factors, such as the allocation of resources, the adjustment of the food and beverages offered to accommodate the available resources and infrastructure, changes in the school timetable, and the provision of leadership support. There was less focus on predisposing and reinforcing factors at the school level. The findings also indicate that the schools focused on implementing the essential features of the national guidelines that suited their needs. However, the selection of elements from the guidelines upon which to focus affected the degree of their implementation. The national guidelines represent a national policy aimed at changing institutional factors at the school level. The findings of this study suggest that the lack of canteen facilities, funding, and competence limited the schools’ ability to deliver a quality service and were barriers to the successful implementation of the guidelines. Furthermore, implementing the guidelines drew time away from the core business of schooling. The schools’ role in health promotion is a statement of the national school policy. However, these findings indicate that healthy school meals are not regarded by the staff as an obvious responsibility of schools, nor were the schools resourced to fulfil their role in the delivery of healthy school meals. Implications This study has several implications for practice and research. The findings suggest that principals must use both leadership and management strategies to address the teachers’ predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors. The implementation of the intervention in schools focused on changing the school organization rather than the individuals involved, and therefore the schools are recommended to actively adopt a whole-school approach. To reduce the barriers to students’ healthy eating, it may be beneficial to give stronger focus on accommodating the students’ needs and preferences by increasing the availability and 5 accessibility of healthy food. Cooperation with municipal kitchens or private food enterprises could allow schools to offer more-attractive healthy school meals with high standards of food safety. The national authorities are encouraged to revise the national guidelines for healthy school meals to make them a stronger and more influential policy document by including implementation guidelines. Further research is required to optimize the implementation process.

Vitenskapsteoretiske refleksjoner : essaysamling / Grete Oline Hole og Tobba T. Therkildsen Sudmann (red.)

“Drinking low-sugar kills your brain cells and stuff…” Lay conceptions in home economics The objective of the study was to investigate how 15-year-old students understand different aspects of the following main topics: 1) eating habits and the enjoyment of food and 2) health and lifestyle. The two topics are related to everyday lifestyle as well as to the students' work in home economics during their 10 years of compulsory schooling. The study had a phenomenographic design, and was conducted using four focus groups. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the analysis was carried out in an iterative manner on those transcripts. The variation of understanding among the students is characterized in a set of ten categories of description: • there is a connection between the sugar content and particular properties of the foodstuff • the marketing on the packaging says something about the sugar content • the perception of the foodstuff as healthy or unhealthy says something about its sugar content • artificial sweeteners are sugar substitutes, and they therefore have the same effect on the body as sugar • artificial sweeteners and sugar have different effects on the body • sugar has an impact on the psyche • sugar may lead to physical health problems/ illness • sugar does not affect the energy intake • fruit and vegetables are necessary for the body • fruit and vegetables are not harmful to the body There are lay conceptions within all these categories of description. For students to have the best possible starting point for studying home economics, it is important that teachers are aware of their students' lay conceptions. In a social constructivist perspective on learning it is natural to assume that lay conceptions are of significance when students choose foodstuffs, and thus contribute to forming the basis for future lifestyle patterns.