Critical Collaboration in Food and Nutrition Education in Schools: A Methodological Strategy for Teacher Training

Objectives: Provide teacher training focusing on the development of Food and Nutrition Education (FNE) strategies for elementary schools based on critical collaboration. Methods: This is an intervention research based on Sociohistorical Psychology and Critical Collaborative Research (CCR). These theoretical frameworks are characterized by the shift in the perspectives of neutrality and by the commitment to produce knowledge through first-hand lived experience not only to describe it but also to modify it. Fifteen elementary school teachers and four pedagogical supervisors from three municipal schools of the city of Diamantina, Minas Gerais state, Brazil participated in the FNE teacher training program. Results: The development of the FNE teacher training program included eight reflective sessions that were carried out during the year 2015, in which the concept of FNE was discussed. Moreover, the analysis of the curriculum matrix was carried out enabling the teachers to identify the programmatic contents in which they could plan teaching activities including FNE in an interdisciplinary manner in different school grades, according to the level of difficulty in including it. The reflective sessions were carried by a team of researchers with different backgrounds and interests in the fields of Nutrition, Psychology, and Education. Conclusions and Implications: The reflective sessions contributed to the collective construction of knowledge on how to promote healthy eating in schools.