PhD Position: Food Education and Young People’s Everyday Geographies of Food

We invite applications for a PhD position on the moralities, politics and geographies of food education programmes and food pedagogies for young people.

Your job

In recent years, a plethora of food education programmes and various other forms of food pedagogies aiming to educate youth about healthy and sustainable food have sprouted in The Netherlands and in other countries. While these are crucial to foster food literacy among future generations in the face of the climate crisis, food insecurity, and increasing corporate food regimes, they can also exclude youth with a migration and/or low socio-economic background and their everyday geographies of food, as research has concluded in British and American settings. Youths’ geographies of food entail their embodied engagements and experiential learning with food in the everyday cultural, socio-spatial contexts and relations in which they live, learn, play and identify with.

Bringing together geographies of food, geographies of youth and critical pedagogy literature, this research project aims to critically investigate to what extent different forms of food pedagogies incorporate, firstly, the cultural and socio-economic diversities of young people's geographies of food, and secondly, a recognition of the economic and political processes that shape geographies of food on multiple interconnected scales. The other key objective is to develop research-based interventions to food education programmes based on polyvocal food pedagogies that are characterised by the equitable presence of, and dialogue between, multiple voices that are rooted in diverse ways of knowing and experiencing the world. Integrating context-specific understandings of food knowledge and practices in food education is essential for inclusive food system transformations.

As a PhD candidate, you will conduct independent research under supervision in the Geography & Education and International Development Studies Sections. The research includes:

• conducting a discourse analysis of written educational material of selected food education programmes to analyse what moral, political, spatial and cultural knowledge is produced;
• using suitable qualitative methodologies to understand how the discourse is negotiated by educators in practice (in schools or other community settings);
• using creative methods (such as Photovoice) to research young people’s everyday geographies of food;
• using educational design research methodologies (co-design, test, evaluate) to investigate appropriate and effective implementation of interventions that are based on polyvocal food pedagogies and that integrate the diversity of youth’s everyday food geographies.

The geographical scope and the selection of case studies of food education programmes or other forms of food pedagogies will be determined in consultation with you, and besides societal relevance, will be based on your expertise, affinity, experience and networks and of the supervisory team.

You will be required to publish peer-reviewed articles as a first author in academic journals (in compliance with the Open Science policy of Utrecht University). You will also share research findings back with the schools/communities where research is carried out, at international conferences and to various stakeholders through publication outlets aimed at other/broader audiences.

Your qualities

We are looking for an enthusiastic colleague who meets the following requirements. The ideal candidate has:

• a Master’s degree in a relevant scientific discipline such as Human Geography, Geography Education & Communication, International Development Studies and linked social science disciplines;
• knowledge of, experience with and/or a strong interest in geographies of youth, diversity, food education and/or critical pedagogy;
• skills relevant to discourse analysis, qualitative methodologies and educational design research or a realistic ability to acquire these skills;
• excellent research skills concerning data collection, analysis and interpretation and research ethics;
• an excellent command of the English language and strong (academic) writing skills;
• preferably a good command of Dutch or the ambition to learn Dutch;
• an ability to work both independently and in a team;
• excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Our offer

We offer:

• a position for one year with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period;
• a working week of 36 hours and a gross monthly salary between €2,770 and €3,539 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.