Research Paper on Food Literacy in the UAE: Challenges and Opportunities

Introduction

I chose this topic because of the need to equip myself with the challenges and opportunities of developing food literacy through Home Economics education in the UAE. A better understanding of the country's food literacy is useful in developing appropriate and evidence-based approaches aimed at ensuring that the citizens become better food consumers - especially regarding healthy eating habits and adherence to recommended daily dietary habits. Additionally, as a food expert, the findings of the literature review will place me in a better position to address food-related literacy issues facing citizens in UAE, with the primary aim of ensuring that citizens live a healthy life.

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Professionally, it is crucial to where citizens currently are in relation to food literacy (Nanayakkara et al., 2017). Another professional benefit attributable to an understanding of UAE food literacy is that it helps to determine the likelihood of the individuals pursuing food-related career pathways.

Literature Review

Food literacy refers to daily practicalities linked to healthy eating (Vidgen & Gallegos, 2014). It is comprised of four domains of food practices: eating, preparation, selection, and planning and management of food (Vidgen & Gallegos, 2014). Food literacy has also been described as the presence of a positive association built through environmental, cultural, and social experiences with food that enables individuals to make decisions aimed at supporting health (Cullen et al., 2015). It can only be achieved if citizens have food-related skills and behaviors linked to their social and environmental contexts. One of the ways in which food literacy can be achieved is through food education, which can be made through home economics education (Kimura, 2011).

There is a critical link between home economics and food literacy. Home economics equips learning with knowledge, skills and behaviors needed for planning, managing, selecting, preparing, and eating foods to meet their nutritional requirements (Fordyce-Voorham and Lai-Yeung, 2016). Even though food literacy can be developed at home, schools play a vital role because of its capacity to influence many people to foster food literacy through its academic programs (Fordyce-Voorham and Lai-Yeung, 2016). Similarly, in a related study aimed at exploring home economic educators' opinions regarding the role of high schools in promoting adolescents' food literacy and enhancing healthy dietary behaviors, Ronto et al. (2017) reported that home economics is useful in developing sustainable food-related life skills. Additionally, food literacy is vital in promoting healthy eating patterns, questioning the food system and related issues, and in improving people's food and nutrition knowledge and skills (Nanayakkara et al., 2017). Similarly, Ronto et al. (2016) agree that improving people's food literacy through home economics helps in promoting healthier diets and in achieving improved food practices.

Food literacy in the UAE is likely to be low in the UAE because of the high prevalence of food-related disorders, such as obesity. Radwan et al. (2018) reported that there is a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity in the UAE. Abusnana et al. (2018) further pointed out that the prevalence of obesity in the UAE increased more than two-fold from 16% in 2000 to the current 34% (Abusnana et al., 2018). The growing problem of obesity in the UAE has also been attributed to calorie-rich soft drinks and fat-rich fast-stood (Rajan, 2018). These findings show that people have a low level of food literacy or knowledge and skills related to healthy eating. Consequently, there is a need for home economics to improve citizen's food literacy and reduce the prevalence of food-related disorders.

This study examines how home economics education can develop food literacy among children and adolescents. The UAE has been applauded for developing new standards-based curriculum, the new generation of schools was recently launched by Shaikh Mohammad following an allocation of Dh1.5 billion to construct the first group of these model schools (Al Shurafa, 2019). Noteworthy, these schools will have state of the art laboratories for home economics and other subjects and are aimed at ensuring that the UAE achieves sustainable development in the education sector and secures its future economy. The laboratory is also aimed at equipping learnings with food literacy skills anchored in home economics education. The new schools are expected to provide "hybrid education" - a combination of academic and professional certification (Al Shurafa, 2019). Both primary schools and secondary school students are set to benefit from the model schools. Government investment in home economics education infrastructure, such as the laboratories, is a new venture since home economics education was not offered before. It is also worth noting that the Ministry of Education (MOE) has developed a new physical and health education curriculum aimed at empowering young students to take charge of their wellbeing and health (UAE Ministry of Education, 2017).

Despite the obvious and many benefits attributable to nutrition education, there are obstacles that hinder curriculum reform in the UAE, such as the lack of financial resources (Dakkak, 2011). Because of a lack of monetary support, the UAE government has not developed a robust infrastructure that ensures that the teachers who graduate from colleges are of high quality. Another hindrance to educational reforms is the lack of continuity in reform efforts, which is manifested through constant change in government positions regarding the need to reform the education sector. Government slow efforts to implement the reforms are linked to the dynamic relationship between government, religion, and education.

The failure to institute reforms is also linked to the lack of understanding of the goals of the change among the broader public, especially students and teachers. Because those tasked with implementing the reforms do not adequately understand them, there has been resistance among major players in the education industry, especially the teachers. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the majority of educational stakeholders believe that foreign governments champion the reforms (Dakkak, 2011). Another challenge associated with curriculum reform in the UAE is the MOE's top-down approach lack of robust teacher professional development (Edarabia, 2020).

Ronto et al. (2016) further established that most HETs reported that food-related life-skills were not taken seriously in their schools because they were regarded as non-academic and not valued by parents, school principals, and teachers. Specifically, core subjects such as mathematics and sciences were seen as more important than home economics by school staff because it involves teaching of basic food preparation skills. Parents were also found to have a negative perception of home economics education because of the perception that it teaches food preparation only. The teaching of food literacy skills is also hindered by lack of adequate human, material and financial resources. Teachers noted that they could not carry out practical components of home education because of budgetary constraints. Financial constraints were further aggravated by high food prices and incomplete kitchens or those undergoing renovations. Additionally, despite efforts to improve students' food literacy, HETs noted that school canteens promoted unhealthy dietary behaviors.

The need for home economics education can be seen through the social dimension of eating practices. Empirical studies which have utilized Bourdieu's theoretical framework to explore the eating behaviors of people from different socioeconomic status have revealed the need for home economics education (Blakeney, 2020). For example, it has been established that working-class and middle-class families have different food beliefs and practices. Specifically, working-class families who eat less variety of foods, processed foods, purchased foods, children's autonomy over food choices, and no concern for food 'molding." Conversely, middle-class families show better food literacy knowledge and skills as manifested through diversity in food choice, use of cook-in sauces, preference for home-made foods, concern for health, and molding of foods to enhance the taste (Blakeney, 2020). Similarly, Pechey and Monsivais (2016) reported that there are socioeconomic inequalities in choice of healthy eating. Specifically, the researchers noted that less healthy food choices among individuals from lower socio-economic groups were linked to lower food expenditure. Lee and Park (2017) also stated that children from low-income households consume food of poor dietary quality and insufficient amounts of more nutrients than those of high-income families.

The differences manifested between working-class and middle-class income families regarding food choice are attributable to differences in nutritional discourse with the later having robust while the former has a weak one (Blakeney, 2020). Similarly, in agreement with Bourdieu's theoretical model, Atkinson and Deeming (2015) established that the social space of class positions affects food preferences. Food choices and preferences are also passed from the parents to the children through the cultural capital aspect of Bourdieu's theoretical framework (Blakeney, 2020). Parental education is also a crucial factor in food choice as highly educated parents are more likely to choose healthy foods, while those with low educational levels want unhealthy foods. Because of this, the introduction of home economics in the UAE could help address the existing gap in nutritional knowledge and skills between people of different socioeconomic backgrounds (Blakeney, 2020).

Why Home Economics Should Be Taught in All Secondary Schools Across the UAE

It is argued here that Home Economics must be included in the curriculum in UAE if we are committed to optimizing the wellbeing of individuals and families in our society. Smart money management, healthy eating, efficient use of energy and water, responsible child-rearing, active aging...these are just some of the skill sets which governments are asking from their citizens.

This is an issue for all of humanity, not just the UAE, more recently framed by the United Nations into a global plan for sustainability. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a set of seventeen aspirational global goals with 169 targets that serve as a blueprint for developing a sustainable future for humankind, incorporating education and learning as a central pillar. The agenda resolves to undertake a 'deliberative approach' with targets set for a 2030 timeline, commencing in 2015. Given the significance and all-encompassing nature of the SDGs, this serves as an overarching, contemporary lens to frame education and what our next generation should be learning. Currently, every country in the world falls short on more than half of the targets of the 17 SDGs and a quarter of the world's countries fall short on all 17 of the goals (UN, 2015). Goal 4, Quality Education, and specifically target 4.7, relates directly to the contribution home economics can make.

The target is that "[B]y 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and susta...