Opportunities for school-based health promotion in farming communities of Ecuador
The thesis is a qualitative study on community engagement as a crucial component of critical health education in small rural schools in farming Ecuador. The aim is to understand the differences in the approach to the school feeding program, parent-teacher relationships, and the spaces created therein for children’s learning about health, food and nourishment, in a context of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition.

The research proposes a dialogue between critical health education theory and political ecology centered on the notion that food, nutrition and health are a collaborative construction demanding active commitment to challenge the status quo. The seminar will include discussions of the article “Windows in Education and Food Policy for Critical Health Education in Ecuador" submitted to Health Promotion International, and the draft of the article “A critical health education perspective on community participation in rural Ecuador’s school meal”.

Discussants:
Monica Carlsson, Associate professor, Department of Education, Aarhus University
Christian Stenbak Larsen, Associate professor, Global Nutrition and Health, Metropolitan University College

Supervisors:
Venka Simovska, Professor, mso, Department of Education, Aarhus University
Jette Benn, Associate professor, emeritus, Department of Education, Aarhus University

PROGRAM

13:00 to 13:10: Welcome and introduction (Venka Simovska)

13.10-ca. 13:30: Presentation (Irene Torres)             

13.30-ca. 14.00: Comments (Christian Stenbak Larsen)

14.00-ca. 14.10: Break

14.10-ca. 14.40: Comments (Monica Carlsson)

14.40-ca. 15.00: Closing remarks (Jette Benn)