Purpose
The study investigates how religious guidelines related to food are navigated in kindergarten. The study focuses particularly on children’s interpretation of halal foods during mealtimes. The research question is: How do employees and children deal with religiously based food rules in a culturally complex kindergarten, and how does this educational context affect the way children understand and negotiate in matters of religion and nationality?
Result
The results show that the kindergarten staff are focused on being inclusive and therefore attempt to downplay the religious differences related to food. This helps to promote positive unity and community in kindergarten. At the same time, this form of obscuring religious differences can create other forms of exclusion and contribute to children developing misunderstood perceptions of religion and nationality. Although the children ate different foods, none of the children linked this to religion. Some children linked halal foods to skin colour or to being from a country other than Norway.
Design
The study is based on 24 days of fieldwork in a religiously diverse Norwegian kindergarten with a total of 57 children aged three to six years. 43 of the children participated in the study, 11 of which ate halal food. The data is based on field notes from observations in kindergarten. In addition, 30 of the oldest children participated in-group interviews with two to four children divided into 11 groups. Audio recordings were taken of the interviews, which were then thematically analysed in combination with observation data.
References
Iversen, R. L. (2023). The convivial concealment of religion: Navigating religious diversity during meals in early childhood education – A Norwegian case. British Journal of Religious Education, 45(3), 263–276.
Online year: 2022
Issue year: 2023
Review year: 2022