Giver skolemad næring for læring?

Artiklen er baseret på en kvalitativ undersøgelse på fire udvalgte skoler af skolemadens betydning for børns og unges læring, trivsel og læringsmiljø. Baggrunden for undersøgelsen er et offentligt skolemadsprojekt. Undersøgelsen viser, at måltidet i skolen har en betydning for elevernes trivsel, og projektet har derfor formodentlig generelt ledt til en øget bevidsthed på skolerne om skolema-dens betydning. Projektet er gennemført inden for en tidsmæssig ramme, som ikke har været gavn-lig for læringsudbyttet, og involveringen af lærere og elever har ikke været optimal. Til trods herfor kan der i relation til artiklens spørgsmål, om skolemadsordningerne har en betydning for elevernes muligheder for at lære om mad og sundhed, peges på at madordningerne har et læringspotentiale. This article is based on a qualitative study aimed at evaluating the effect of free school meal interventions on pupils’ well-being, development of knowledge and competencies, and the learning environment in schools. The study was conducted at four schools offering free school meals for 20 weeks. At each school single- and focus group interviews were carried out with students from grades 5 to 7 and from grades 8 to 9. Furthermore observations at the lunch breaks were done, as were single interviews with the class teacher and headmaster and/or the person responsible for the school meals. The cross case analysis in the article focuses on pupils concepts of food and meals, their competences in relation to food and health and their participation in the school meal interventions. The analysis indicates that the pupils have developed knowledge and skills related to that they have tried new foods and dishes. Development of affective and socio-cultural aspects of learning can also be identified – aspects related to the pupils’ experiences with critically reflection on new dishes, and their experiences with eating the same food together in the class. The article concludes that although the interventions didn’t include og was related to teaching about food and health, there seems to be a learning potential in the school meal interventions.