Food Diversity in Home Economics Education - Exemplified by Danish School Research.

This paper focuses on didactic challenges related to food diversity teaching in Home Economics Education in Danish secondary school, based on a recently concluded Home Economics Education research project in Denmark (Wistoft et al., 2022). The methodology is a mixed methods design, including a survey among Home Economics teachers (N=380) as well as personal teacher interviews, geographically dispersed (N=24). The theoretical framework for the analysis presented includes theory of teacher profiles (Carlsen, 2017), systems theory (Luhmann, 1995), learning expectations relating to achievement (Hattie, 2009), and taste didactics and competencies (Wistoft & Qvortrup, 2019, 2021). There are four main findings: A) The empirical research shows that food diversity is included by some teachers but rejected by others, who believe that the national food culture is the right approach to teaching food knowledge. B) It is necessary to focus on teaching food diversity in Home Economics cooking classes in relation to the increasing diversification of food, taste, and meals in society, because, in a Danish context, and probably in many other countries, food diversity perspectives are often neglected or only treated implicitly by the teachers. C) Food diversity teaching in Home Economics cooking classes needs to include the processes of making sense of food. D) Food diversity teaching includes learning processes concerning cultural, religious, and ideological or attitudinal differences in taste and meal communities. The paper concludes with some general didactic recommendations for teaching and learning about cultural food diversity in Home Economics Education in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]