Foucault, space and primary school dining rooms

Abstract

This paper takes up recent debates within Children's Geographies as to the ‘usefulness’ of theory and its application to school dining rooms. The paper argues that in particular, Foucault's notions of governmentality have the potential to advance theoretical understandings of the spatiality of school dining rooms, the social relationships that occur within them and that in addition this can have relevant practical and policy implications that could impact upon the everyday lives of children that are both constituted by and constitutive of this space.

Keywords:

• children
• Foucault
• health
• school meals
• dining rooms

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Professor Derek Colquhoun, University of Hull, for his support and advice in writing this paper and to the two anonymous referees for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper.