Action‐research and Food and Nutrition Security: A school experience mediated by conceptual graphic representation tool

Abstract

This study deals with the development of a graphic representation tool as a way to support educational planning in an elementary school in the rural area of Brasilia (Brazil’s capital), aiming at the implementation of an integrated action‐research project focusing on hunger and nutrition. The graphic tool made it possible to promote dialogical–reflexive interactions among school teachers as to the identification of competencies and skills in elementary education curriculum and generating apprenticeship themes, scientific concepts, and educational activities. It also constitutes a useful tool for the teaching staff to realize the interdependences among the many school subjects, and to understand their practices, thus leading to self‐evaluation with greater awareness for potential for transformation.

Acknowledgements

First, the authors would like to thank all the people at the Escola Classe Osório Bacchin, including the director, teachers, workers, students, and parents, as well as the Secretaira do Estado de Educação do Governo do Distrito Federal, who authorized this project. In addition, they wish to give special thanks to Professor Fabio da Purificação de Bastos, from the Federal University of Santa Maria, for the revision of the preliminary manuscript. Finally, the authors wish to thank CNPq—the Brazilian Government institution geared to scientific and technological development—for the financial support provided for the project ‘Technological and Methodological Development for Mediation among Users and Committees of Hydrographic Basins’ (2002–2004). Actually, the present study constitutes one of the subprojects of that master project and represents one of the multiple activities in the field of social–‐environmental sustainability of the cited master project.

Notes

1. The word empowerment refers to the political–organizational strengthening of a collective, which focuses on a collaborative unified action to transform the local reality in order to bring about social and economic development (Friedman, 1992). Empowerment is also understood as the process of recognition, creation, and utilization of resources and tools by individuals, groups, and communities, therein or in the surrounding environment, which results in the increase of power—psychological, socio‐cultural, political, and economic—allowing for an increase in the efficiency of the exercise of citizenship (Pinto, 1998). The historical path that brought about this concept aims at the liberation of individuals within the economic structures, daily situations, and cultural and social practices shown to be unfair, oppressive, and discriminatory, through a process of reflection on human life.

2. The definition of food and nutrition security has evolved considerably over time. In the face of the use of controversies in the use of the word (food security, nutrition security, nutritional security, and food and nutrition security), we decided to adopt the term ‘food and nutrition security’. According to Gross (2002), the definition of food and nutrition security has evolved considerably over time. The starting point of ‘food security’ was food availability to balance unequal food distribution regionally and nationally. However, it was rapidly accepted that availability, although a necessary element, is not sufficient for food security because food may be physically existent but inaccessible for those most in need. As a result, today the following definition presented by FAO (2000) is internationally widely acknowledged: Food Security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. ‘Nutrition security’ was defined by Quisumbing, Brown, Feldstein, Haddad, and Christine Peña (1995) as adequate protein, energy, micronutrients, and minerals for all household members. Nutrition security depends not only on sufficient food at the household level, but also on factors such as healthcare and childcare and access to clean water and sanitation. Benson (2004) says that although the notion of nutrition security has received far less attention in the literature on hunger and economic development than has food security, food security itself is a necessary but not sufficient condition for nutrition security and a healthy and active life. In an attempt to solve this conflict, Weingärtner (2004) proposed a definition that combines food and nutrition security and emphasizes several aspects—that is, ‘Availability’, ‘Accessibility’, and ‘Use and Utilization’ of food: ‘Food and nutrition security is achieved, if adequate food (quantity, quality, safety, socio‐cultural acceptability) is available and accessible for and satisfactorily used and utilized by all individuals at all times to live a healthy and active life’.

3. Competency can be defined as the ability to deal successfully with complex demands or to carry out an activity or task. Skill is used to designate an ability to perform specific motor and/or cognitive acts with ease and accuracy (Rychen & Tiana, 2004).

4. A dialectical view of rationality is adopted: there are ‘objective’ aspects of social situations and people’s ‘subjective’ understanding of situations. The action‐researcher should attempt to discover how situations are constrained by ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ conditions, and to explore how both kinds of conditions can be changed (Carr & Kemmis, 1986, p. 183).

5. The term ‘rational’ is relative to the dialectical concept of rationality presented by Carr and Kemmis (1986, p. 183). The possibility to perform free and rational communicative action, which is as free from manipulation as possible, will lead to the promotion of democratic will‐formation, according to Huttunen and Heikkinen (1998).