The school restaurant: ethnographic reflections in researching children’s food space

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretically influenced discussion of methodological issues in carrying out ethnographic work at Peartree Academy. Food is central to our sense of identity. It draws on notions of the school restaurant and presents an account of the complexities surrounding the disorderliness of fieldwork in researching children’s food space. The aim of this paper is to explore how researcher identity needs to be considered within the relationship between discipline and social learning spaces for eating. Foucault’s concept of discipline is introduced in conceptualising the study. Key reflections place emphasis on the messiness of researching such spaces and offer recommendations for navigation.

Keywords:

• Educational ethnography
• school restaurant
• reflexivity
• identity

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the reviewers for providing for taking the time to provide critical commentary on this paper, for which the author is grateful.

Disclosure statement

Gurpinder Singh Lalli declares that he has no conflict of interest and that the research follows the University of Leicester’s code of ethical practice and meets the requirements of the Human Subject Research (HSR) with children. All research conducted was carried out appropriately in conjunction with the HSR and British Educational Research (BERA, 2018) guidelines.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gurpinder Singh Lalli

Gurpinder Singh Lalli is a Senior Lecturer in Education and Inclusion Studies, based in the Institute of Education at University of Wolverhampton. Gurpinder has a vested interest in the sociology of education and is interested in food studies and the author of Schools, Food and Social Learning published in 2019.