The aim of this study is to explore conditioning factors influencing learning opportunities in food-related education taught from a perspective of sustainable development. Over the course of the eighth-grade school year, data were derived from field studies of two classes taught in Home and Consumer Studies with an exploratory case-study design. Data were analyzed using thematic and ideal-type analysis, resulting in four ideal-type portrayals: the Convinced, the Easygoing, the Unable, and the Skeptical, which characterize how pupils participate in and respond to sustainable food education in different ways. The characteristics of each of the four ideal types imply contextual frames that condition unequal learning opportunities in sustainable food education. By identifying, scrutinizing, and accommodating to existing conflicts and related structures, educational policy makers and practicing teachers can increase opportunities for pupils to develop informed reasoning, regardless of their ideal type characteristics. © 2018 Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

Purpose: There is a prevailing controversy over the use of evidencebased practice (EBP) within human-service organizations. Since it is argued that it is a threat to reflection, proven experience, and tacit knowledge, we wanted to investigate the impact of the research supported, family-centered model Family Check-Up (FCU) on practitioners' use of, and opportunities for, reflection. Method: Focus group interviews with family support social workers trained in FCU (n = 19) were conducted. Results: The significance of reflection for social work practice is clearly indicated. It is crucial for providing quality care: for making progress, processing cases, and effecting change in client-related work. Described as a coping-mechanism, it is also crucial for practitioners. Since various elements of FCU require practitioners' reflective ability, it was argued that it promotes both reflection and professional learning. Discussion: Rather than constituting a threat to reflection, FCU was seen as promoting it, indicating an inaccuracy in prevailing assumptions about research-supported models. This implies the need for revising the definition of such models to promote their potential use and benefits. Working with FCU, however, demands sufficient resources. Conclusion: With an increased focus on "production" leading to changes in priorities, it is argued that resources and opportunities for reflection decrease. As FCU and similar models seem to allow for the incorporation of reflection into ordinary tasks, we propose that they be used to prevent reflection from becoming even more difficult. However, to gain from the benefits of both reflection and research-supported models, various external factors need to be considered.

The aim of the present study is to explore experienced home economics (HE) teachers’ perceptions of the influencing factors that condition their teaching opportunities regarding the revised mission to implement sustainable development (SD) in food-related education. Five purposefully selected HE teachers participated in individual, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. The results show a shared view of in the importance of educating the next generation of sustainable food consumers. Teachers returned to specific influencing factors that conditioned their opportunities to implement a perspective of SD in HE food education. This generated four themes: (1) Unscheduled foodwork in preparing sustainable food education, (2) opportunities to link everyday food choices with larger food system issues, (3) access to sustainable supportive food products and materials, and (4) a school environment in support of food-related teaching. The teachers outlined a number of local and national factors perceived to inhibit access to facilitators and expressed a concern for pupils’ opportunities for quality assurance and goal achievement. The suggested influencing factors could serve as propositions for further investigations in the continued work of both resource reinforcements as well as of developing a SD perspective in food-related HE education. © 2018 by the author.

Previous research emphasizes the need for reflection in complex, dynamic practices, like social work.However, increased governance of the public sector and welfare state has caused a reform, which inturn has affected the layout and conditions of work. Private sector control ideals and ideas from theauditing system have led to a new focus. It is argued that we should subordinate practiceapproaches–characterized by reflection, proven experience, and tacit knowledge–to manual-based treatment, evaluations, and assessments. This study aims at understanding the role ofreflection in social work by investigating its use and valuation by family support social workers.Opportunities and resources for reflection are another focus. Focus group interviews (nD40) wereused to produce data. The need for reflection to conduct highly qualitative social work becameevident. The question is notwhetherto reflect or not, ratherhowthis best can be done, givencurrent time constraints. Reflection was considered a coping mechanism, offering a sense ofprofessional legitimacy. Organizational changes seem to impact on time for reflection. However,when enabling process, learning, and development, it can be argued that reflection is beneficial forseveral parties. Therefore, reflection requires continued emphasis, highlighting its potential benefits.

Little is known what the term sustainable development entails in relation to the school subject of home and consumer studies and the subject’s knowledge area of food. The aim is to illustrate how food is expressed in national syllabuses of home and consumer studies at present and in the past, and its operationalization into sustainable development. Using qualitative content analysis, the results show three themes: (a) maintenance of the family and household, (b) maintenance of the earth’s resources and (c) maintenance of the future generations. The first theme is characterized by concrete tangible judgements based on experiences of family members and is predominant in earlier syllabuses. The second and third themes are predominant in later syllabuses and show a movement into complex and abstract contemplations of global ecological, social and economic conditions for the purchase of food. The presentation of food in relation to sustainable development has changed over the years, consequently demonstrating the didactic challenge of home and consumer studies.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand how teachers, nurses and engineers view the use of scholarly skills, such as research and critical thinking, in occupational practice and what implications this understanding may have for (especially) teacher education. Design/methodology/approach - Engineers, nurses and teachers who had worked for at least one year after their education was interviewed (telephone interviews). Four interviews from each category were made in this exploratory study. Findings - Few of the interviewees spontaneously connect their research methods training or other elements of scientific thinking in their education to everyday work practice, but all give examples of systematic, reflective and critical elements as features present in the occupational context. Almost all also view the final thesis work done in their respective programmes as a gratifying experience. Further, they describe the freedom and independence they have in their choice of research question and form of work as appealing and encouraging. Research limitations/implications - The study is exploratory and the results should be used to develop ideas about how to improve scholarly/scientific training in profession-oriented higher education programmes. Practical implications - This paper explore ways to understand and further develop the teaching of scholarly/scientific attitudes and ways of thinking in profession-oriented university programmes. Social implications - Scholarly skills such as critical thinking, analytical skills and awareness of different perspectives are important in all professions. How to design education to optimize such skills is important for people and society. Originality/value - The value of the study is that it is a try to use experiences from different fields to improve the generic scholarly aspects of professional education (especially teacher education).

This stimulating book sets out to critically explore the notion of men, masculinities and teaching in early childhood education. It addresses the global pattern of gender, teaching and care where men are in the minority, and explores the notion that the greater involvement of men within teaching and associated professions has the potential to transform gender relations for future generations. International contributors raise critical questions about the construction of masculinities, the continuing reluctance of men to engage in this type of work, and the influence of political and public debates on the issue. Through this engaging discussion readers are asked to question whether this is something that we should care about, with key topics including: The roles of men in education and care Teachers’ beliefs, norms and values of gender equality The construction of male identities Gendered ideals, and children’s interpretations of gender. Men, Masculinities and Teaching in Early Childhood Education brings together a refreshing and critical set of perspectives linked to an increasingly important educational debate and will be a valuable text for practitioners, professionals, policy makers and parents/carers. © 2016 Simon Brownhill, Jo Warin and Inga Wernersson. All rights reserved.