Children’s knowledge about the origins of food in early childhood education and care institutions (ECEC) in Norway

The aim of the study is to investigate the knowledge of Norwegian kindergarten children about the origin of eight common foods: milk, caviar, bread, wheat flour, cheese, pasta, sausage and meat. The research questions are:

1. What do kindergarten children know about the origins of these foods?
2. Is there a connection between kindergarten children’s knowledge and parents’ and employees’ conversations with them about these topics, and the kindergarten profile and gender?

The results showed that most children could say where milk (94%), caviar (61%), meat (79%), bread (67%) and wheat flour (67%) come from. Fewer of the children had knowledge about the origins of cheese (30%), pasta (30%) and sausage (33%). The study found no significant correlation between the factors investigated in research question 2.

The researchers combined qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with quantitative data from questionnaires. The sample consisted of 56 children aged five to six years (28 girls and 28 boys) from nine different kindergartens in the same county in Central Norway. During the interviews, the children saw pictures of eight different foods, and they were asked if they could name the food and say where it came from. Questionnaires were provided to an employee at each kindergarten and to the parents of the children who participated in the study. The forms asked questions about how often they talked about the origin of food. The researchers analysed the data from the interviews and questionnaires using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Bjørgen, K., Moe, B., Wold, P.A., & Melis, C. (2023). Children’s knowledge about the origins of food in early childhood education and care institutions (ECEC) in Norway. Education 3– 13, 51(7), 1118–1129.

Online year: 2022

Issue year: 2023

Review year: 2022