Food Practices and Employed Families with Younger Children
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Thomas Coram Research Unit
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Brannen J
(2012)
Critical Issues in Designing Mixed Methods Policy Research
in American Behavioral Scientist
Brannen J
(2013)
Families, meals and synchronicity: eating together in British dual earner families
in Community, Work & Family
Julia Brannen (Co-Author)
(2011)
Mixed methods designs
Julia Brannen (Co-Author)
(2011)
Mixed methods research designs
Knight A
(2014)
The temporality of food practices: intergenerational relations, childhood memories and mothers' food practices in working families with young children
in Families, Relationships and Societies
O'Connell
(2016)
Food, Families and Work
O'Connell R
(2013)
Children's food, power and control: Negotiations in families with younger children in England
in Childhood
O'Connell R
(2013)
The use of visual methods with children in a mixed methods study of family food practices
in International Journal of Social Research Methodology
O'Connell, R.
(2016)
Food, families and work: children's changing food practices in the context of parental employment
in Discover Society
Rebecca O'Connell (author)
(2014)
Challenges, innovations and solutions in family food practices : linking qualitative and quantitative methods
| Description | Key findings from Phase 1 of the study were announced at a conference for policymakers and practitioners at London Canal Museum on 3rd October 2011. The study's main findings were: 1. Secondary analysis of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) and Health Survey for England (HSE) found no relationship between maternal employment and the quality of children's diets. Similar results were found in the qualitative sub sample of 48 families from the NDNS. Other factors, such as maternal education may better predict children's diets than maternal employment. 2. Secondary analysis of NDNS 2008/9 identified the mother as the main food provider in almost all (93%) families with a child aged 18 months to 10 years. In the qualitative sample men in about a third of two parent families did some cooking on weekdays. Where both parents were employed full time, this rose to half. Fathers' work patterns and other factors seemed important in explaining their involvement in meal preparation. 3. Family meals were important to nearly all families in the qualitative study, but less than a third managed to eat together on weeknights. The synchronisation of family members' timetables was more important for family meals than parents' working hours. Children's routines and 'body clocks' and the coordination of tastes and preferences were also important. 4. Nearly two thirds of children in the qualitative sample ate in at least one childcare setting one or more times during the week. In some cases, food eaten in school and childcare expanded the child's tastes and supplemented or compensated for eating at home. In other cases the food in other settings was considered to be of poor quality and to diminish children's. 5. Parents in the qualitative study emphasised the importance of fruit and vegetables for a healthy diet. However, they were not always willing or able to control what children ate. Providing healthy food was not always a priority; in practice, on some occasions parents placed greater importance on fostering children's independence and self-control, ensuring children ate something rather than nothing and avoiding 'aggro' or children developing 'hang ups'. |
| Exploitation Route | 1.The methodological findings are relevant to the development of UK government survey resources, in particular potentially contributing to the design of a national survey (the National Diet and Nutrition Survey) 2.Substantive findings highlight particular issues pertaining to food and eating in employed families with younger children for the consideration of policy makers and practitioners. 3.Further funding has been awarded for a follow up study (ES/J012556/1) which builds on the current study to map and understand children's and families' food practices over time. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare,Other |
| URL | http://www.foodfamiliesandwork.co.uk/ |
| Description | Refinements to the NDNS including the addition of new variables from 2015 on maternal education and hours of employment |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Other |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Taking a long view in understanding children's and young people's diets |
| Amount | £260,449 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/J012556/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2011 |
| End | 04/2014 |
| Title | Archived data - UKDS |
| Description | Anonymised data from Phase 1 of the study (Food Practices and Employed Families with Younger Children) now archived along with supporting documents with UKDS and Phase Two (Taking a Long View) in progress. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | None yet |
| URL | http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/ |
| Description | British Sociological Association (BSA) food study group convenor |
| Organisation | British Sociological Association (BSA) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Study Group co-convenor |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | National Children?s Bureau (NCB) research study into childminding practice advisory group |
| Organisation | National Children's Bureau |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Advisory Group membership for the Study of childminding by National Children?s Bureau (NCB) |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | Article for FareChoice: 'The newsletter for community food and health Scotland' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Study findings about gender division of foodwork over time for practitioners na |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.communityfoodandhealth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CHFSNewsletter.pdf |
| Description | Children's food, power and control : negotiations in families with younger children in England |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Health professionals |
| Results and Impact | Invited seminar/workshop for staff in an Eating Disorders Adult Inpatient Services ward, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. na |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Combining multiple qualitative methods in analysis |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Lecture based on current study for postgraduate students at IOE n/a |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Expert interview for DEMOS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Rebecca O'Connell interviewed The PI was interviewed by the Senior Researcher leading on the project, as one of a number of expert interviews with people who can bring important insights to the work. This included interviews with experts and practitioners who have researched childhood nutrition, or who work in relevant areas including health services, early education or parenting services. Further information: http://www.demos.co.uk/projects/nutritionintheearlyyears The PI was interviewed by the Senior Researcher leading on the project, as one of a number of expert interviews with people who can bring important insights to the work. This included interviews with experts and practitioners who have researched childhood |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0190msm |
| Description | Food and families who work : implications for policy makers and practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | - To discuss the findings of this and other studies which examine links between parents' work and children's diets - To pay attention to children's perspectives and their eating in other settings - To explore the relevance of our findings for policy makers and practitioners n/a |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2014 |
| Description | Food practices and employed families with younger children |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A closed seminar to disseminate early findings and to discuss how they might fit Department of Health priorities Amendments to NDNS as described |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Food practices and working families in England : findings from a mixed methods study |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation: SOAS Food Forum seminar series, SOAS Food Studies Centre NA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Food/work : researching family food practices at the public-private interface |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Symposium: Relational Knowledge and Cultural Identities: Anthropological perspectives on nature, gender, family and nation. Introduced social anthropologists to research in an applied social science research unit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Insights from the Economic and Social Research Council collaborative project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation by one of the researcher funders to the 2nd Quadrilateral Social Research Coordination Group Technical Workshop and Joint Workshop with the Quadrilateral Regulatory Economics Working Group in Ottawa, Canada (16-18th May 2011) NA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Interviews, surveys and all that jazz : research methods for exploring children's food practices |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Researchers have noted that because food practices are embodied and embedded in social relations and social processes, they are not necessarily easily accessible to reflection. In their capacity to evoke the sensual, non-rational and material aspects of life, visual research methods offer potential for the study of food and eating. The flexible and interactive nature of some visual approaches also means that such methods may be particularly appropriate for research with children. NA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| URL | http://www.britsoc.co.uk/specialisms/FoodArc.htm |
| Description | Invited presentation NDNS Users conference (Natcen)30th July 2014 (Charlie Owen) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Discussed use of NDNS for social science research na |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Mixed methods research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited seminar on mixed methods research for doctoral students na |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012 |
| Description | Multiple methods for exploring children's food practices |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation, seminar series, King's College London NA |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Using creative methods in research with children |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Lectures for postgraduate students at IOE based on the study na |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Webinar with the UK Data Service |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Ceraolo, M. and O'Connell, R. (2016). Webinar: An introduction to data on food and food security. Collaboration with the UK Data Service. Online, 15.00 - 16.00, 9 November 2016. 70+ attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/news-and-events/eventsitem/?id=4701 |
| Description | Working Group - Revisiting Eating Out |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited member to the 'Revisiting Eating Out Working Group' workshop, Manchester, 10th March 2018 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.researchgate.net/project/Revisiting-Eating-Out-Three-English-Cities-1995-2015 |