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The importance of food education in primary schools has been globally recognised. However, more detailed definitions of its learning objectives are rarely found. The study aimed to define multisectoral themes and learning objectives for food education in primary education in Finland.

A descriptive three-round Delphi study was conducted with experts in food education in various organisations. In the first questionnaire, the participants were asked to define possible objectives for food education related to general objectives for basic education. Respondents of the first questionnaire formed a research panel (n = 22). These panellists were then invited to complete the second (n = 16) and third questionnaires (n = 12), where the objectives were further modified. Qualitative content analysis and Bloom's taxonomy were applied in the process of creating the learning objectives.

In the iterative process, 42 learning objectives for food education in primary schools were defined. Further, “Sustainability and ethics of food systems” was defined as the cross-cutting theme of food education. In addition, 13 subthemes were defined, which fell into three thematic categories: personal (e.g. feelings), practical (e.g. eating) and intangible (e.g. culture) issues.

The defined learning objectives for a holistic food education may be used in advancing primary school curriculum in Finland and perhaps other countries.

The study explores government primary school students' remote learning experience during school closures due to COVID-19.

A qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews were employed for data collection. The study used a snowball sampling procedure to select 24 participants.

This study shows that students experienced setbacks in learning due to not having access to resources. Besides, online classes were expensive as they were not able to buy devices, internet package and other resources to participate in the remote classes. Since many students were unable to access digital media and get parental and teacher support for education, students' engagement in learning was very low. Moreover, the paucity of learning due to school closures has lowered students' motivation for learning. The study also contributed to understanding children's emotional attachment with the schools and how the closure affected their well-being. The results indicate that the students, teachers and parents did not have a positive experience with remote teaching–learning and the modalities did not contribute to continuing with meaningful learning.

The remote learning experience shared in this study can be used to inform policymakers, educators and stakeholders exploring remote learning solutions in low-resource contexts. This study contributes to understanding the skills and competencies teachers require to support children's learning during any crisis.

This study explored the effectiveness of sex education lessons developed for six graders by the local community and experts.

Three lesson plans were developed based on a focus group discussion with students, parents, and teachers and then revised based on experts' feedback. The finalized three lessons were taught to 102 sixth graders in three different primary schools. Pre-test and post-test the students' sex education understanding was measured, and a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to measure overall sexual attitude and awareness. The participants engaged in a semi-structured interview after each lesson, supplemented with researchers' notes. Descriptive statistics and t-tests, and the comparative method were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data, respectively.

The sex education knowledge of participants at the three schools improved significantly (p < 0.01) after completing the learning units. Students also expressed satisfaction with the media, activities, and discussions during these sex education classes. The created learning units improved students' sexual attitude and awareness.

Further long-term follow-up studies are needed to determine if there is retention of knowledge, attitudes, and awareness.

There should be more sex education programs at the earlier primary school level, especially in risky regions. Compulsory sex education curriculum in primary schools needs to be adjusted for each school by using a constructivist approach.

This study is unique because it was designed to better fit a specific school’s context and the contents were adapted to be taught by a teacher with minimal training required.

This chapter reviews successful pedagogical interventions in teaching literacy in languages of teaching and learning in the upper primary grades in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and explores how researchers and teachers decolonized classroom spaces to ensure student achievement of learning outcomes. Themes emerging from the analysis of data are biliteracy interventions, interventions in official and national languages, teacher professional development, and ecological interventions. Results of the review indicate that researchers decolonized classroom spaces by using student linguistic repertoires, evidence-based pedagogical strategies student cultural capital and engaging families and communities. The review also reveals that more research needs to be conducted on teaching and learning in upper primary grades. The linguistic diversity of LMICs provides rich contexts for more research in bilingual education and L2 acquisition which could be useful worldwide as stakeholders in the education process explore the best ways to improve learning outcomes in schools.

This study was design to investigate of P. aeruginosa, an example of Gram-negative bacteria, in seven primary and secondary schools of Baghdad city, and the effects of Ethanol and Dettol of P. aeruginosa biofilm.

Seventy swabs were collected from seven primary and secondary schools of Baghdad city, Iraq, during November -December 2022. Swabs were collected from classes desk, doors handles, students hands and water taps. Standard microbiological testing methods were used on the samples for isolation and identification. The ability of bacteria to form biofilm and the effects of Ethanol and Dettol on"preformed” biofilms was examined by microtiter plate with the use of an ELISA reader.

In 70 swabs from seven primary and secondary schools, growth was observed in 33 swabs as P. aeruginosa. Primary schools were higher contaminated than secondary and water taps and door handles represented the main source of this contamination. The ability of bacteria to produce biofilm was observed in 19 (57.6%) isolates and 14 (42.4%) nonbiofilm producers. As well as, Ethanol (70%) treatment of preformed biofilms led to enhance biofilm formation and revealed significantly greater staining after 4 and 24h than Dettol (3%) compared to an untreated control (tryptic soy broth (TSB) incubation).

Studies on P. aeruginosa in Iraqi schools are quite rare. This work is considered distinctive because it drew attention to the presence of pathogenic bacteria within primary and secondary schools, which are not considered their natural environment.

This paper seeks to understand children’s responses to food waste in school by exploring children’s views on food waste and empowering them to discuss and develop their own solutions.

Using creative problem-solving approach and photovoice technique, the authors conducted focus group discussions with 28 primary school children in the UK.

Children have a clear understanding of the consequences of food waste for individuals, society and the environment. They displayed negative emotions concerning food waste and responded positively to the possibility of food recycling. Their solutions to reduce food waste will require multiple stakeholder engagement, including self-regulation, peer-monitoring, teacher supervision and family support. However, rather than relying on intervention schemes that require significant adult involvement, children placed a heavy emphasis on self-regulation, playing an active role in addressing food waste in school.

This research extends previous understanding, by showing children as agentic consumers who can shape food waste solutions in school. These findings are of use to primary teachers and local education authorities, to aid children in developing their own solutions to reduce food waste in their own schools.

This chapter presents the reflections of a principal in his experiences of supporting and transitioning the inclusion of learners with diverse needs into both primary and secondary schools. His extensive experience has led him to challenge established practice to find alternatives that support all learners. His journey has guided him on a path to broaden the definition of education from developing intellect and attaining knowledge to one that also includes emotion, connection, invention, and innovation. The purpose of education for all children is encouraging them to be thinkers, doers, and to embrace opportunities to develop their competence. This chapter includes his reflective approach to learning with a strong emphasis on the need for supporting students with diverse needs as they transition through the often-complex schooling arena.

The purpose of this study is to focus on the informal learning (IL) processes of teachers in primary and secondary schools in Spain. Its objective is to study the strategies currently used by teachers to generate IL, identifying the factors that condition such learning and the changes that must be introduced to enhance it.

The methodology is qualitative, with information from interviews with school principals (n = 21) and teachers (n = 60) from 22 primary and secondary schools in Spain and from 3 discussion groups with experts (n = 17). The topics used refer to strategies to generate and promote IL and its conditioning factors.

The findings suggest that, regardless of the stage (primary/secondary) and ownership of the centre (state/private), the teaching staff use IL strategies that, beyond individual actions, involve meeting, sharing and reflecting with other teachers. The challenge is that IL facilitates both professional development and the development and improvement of the organizations. School principals play a central role in achieving this relationship and promoting the institutionalization of changes and educational administration in facilitating the right conditions for their development and recognition.

Given that the participation of schools in the research was voluntary, as was that of the teachers who agreed to be interviewed, some bias may exist. To refine the analyses it would also have been interesting to contrast with the people interviewed some of the assessments which appeared in the focus groups. Finally, future work might focus on analysing in greater detail the effect of different management styles on IL.

The results presented point to the need for decisive support from school leadership teams for collaborative work processes and joint reflection, which are one of the basic conditions for facilitating IL and, at the same time, for encouraging organizational learning. Furthermore, in the Spanish context, there is the challenge of combining the participation of teachers in formal training actions with the recognition of IL generated in the development of daily professional activity.

The data provided complements and reaffirms the findings of research carried out in other types of organizations, at the same time highlighting the importance of horizontal relationships among education professionals and the difficulty of creating a solid foundation for organizational changes. Improvements are, on the other hand, highly conditioned by the role adopted by school principals.