Food and nutrition education in Malta : a journey across time and subject boundaries

Abstract

This chapter opens with a historical overview of how food and nutrition education evolved in Malta, looking at its original goals of life skills, health improvement and potential employment and the eventual diversification in focus and target learners in tandem with emerging needs and policies. It then offers a detailed description of the current provision of food and nutrition education in secondary schools, highlighting the prominent role of home economics and the contribution of other subjects such as biology; physical education; personal, social and career development; core science; and, more recently, the VET subjects hospitality, health and social care and agribusiness. The approach and coverage of food and nutrition education in early childhood education and primary school syllabi is also described, referring to the multicomponent Fonzu l-Fenek initiative. Next, the unique function of the state-run Home Economics Seminar Centre is outlined, looking at its various food and nutrition education programmes catering for different age groups and its provision of consultancy services to schools. A summary of the food and nutrition component of home economics national examinations and teacher training for food and nutrition education is also presented. This chapter concludes with a proposal to adopt the Mediterranean diet as a unifying contextual framework for a new, comprehensive vision and curriculum for food and nutrition education across school subjects and levels.