Dr. Melanie Ní Dhuinn is a Senior Lecturer in Education in Marino Institute of Education and previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the School of Education in Trinity College and Director of the Professional Master of Education in Hibernia College. She is a qualified post-primary teacher (Physical Education and Gaeilge) and now works across primary and post-primary teacher education as a Teacher Educator and a Researcher.
In this podcast Melanie interviews leading researchers, academics, social justice activists, policy makers, curriculum specialists and practitioners as they talk about the Sociology of Education across the continuum of education and how it looks in everyday reality in its many forms and guises.
This is season two of her podcast; “Let’s Talk About the Sociology of Education”, you can listen to season one episodes here. This podcast was developed initially as a resource to support student teachers and others working in Initial Teacher Education to try and make sense of and demystify what can be abstract and dense sociological theories and recognise them in real-time practice. The podcast has gone from strength to strength, now boasting global listenership and interest appealing to many, inside and outside the field of education.
The podcast is broad ranging and covers a range of sociological perspectives, experiences and discussions including Social Justice, Equity and Equality, Disability, Inclusion,Cultural Capital, Schools and Schooling, education systems, technology in education, LGBTQI+ experiences in education, values, beliefs, gender in education, global citizenship, the family and school, emotion in sociology and much more. Tune in to learn from expert researchers, academics and practitioners as we discuss everything and anything sociological within the field of education.
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Dr. Melanie Ní Dhuinn is a Senior Lecturer in Education in Marino Institute of Education and previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the School of Education in Trinity College and Director of the Professional Master of Education in Hibernia College. She is a qualified post-primary teacher (Physical Education and Gaeilge) and now works across primary and post-primary teacher education as a Teacher Educator and a Researcher.
In this podcast Melanie interviews leading researchers, academics, social justice activists, policy makers, curriculum specialists and practitioners as they talk about the Sociology of Education across the continuum of education and how it looks in everyday reality in its many forms and guises.
This is season two of her podcast; “Let’s Talk About the Sociology of Education”, you can listen to season one episodes here. This podcast was developed initially as a resource to support student teachers and others working in Initial Teacher Education to try and make sense of and demystify what can be abstract and dense sociological theories and recognise them in real-time practice. The podcast has gone from strength to strength, now boasting global listenership and interest appealing to many, inside and outside the field of education.
The podcast is broad ranging and covers a range of sociological perspectives, experiences and discussions including Social Justice, Equity and Equality, Disability, Inclusion,Cultural Capital, Schools and Schooling, education systems, technology in education, LGBTQI+ experiences in education, values, beliefs, gender in education, global citizenship, the family and school, emotion in sociology and much more. Tune in to learn from expert researchers, academics and practitioners as we discuss everything and anything sociological within the field of education.
S2 Episode Eight: Dr. Michelle Share "Food Matters: It's not just what you eat, but where, how, and with whom"
Let's Talk About Sociology of Education
59 minutes
11 months ago
S2 Episode Eight: Dr. Michelle Share "Food Matters: It's not just what you eat, but where, how, and with whom"
Dr Michelle Share is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin.
She is a sociologist with extensive experience in the conduct of multi-site research and evaluation projects in child and youth settings.
She has researched and published on the role of grandparents in childcare provision; children and parents who use intellectual disability services; educational access programmes at second and third level; young people food and nutrition in second level and alternative education settings; and surplus food distribution in community and voluntary organisations.
She was the principal investigator on a study of transnational grandparenting among Polish families in Ireland, and in 2024 with Alicja Bobek, TU Dublin, published Polish Families in Ireland: A Life Course Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan). You can read about Michelle’s extensive research portfolio at this link.
In this episode we discuss Michelle’s diverse career in sociology and education, focusing on the Sociology of Food. She highlights the importance of food beyond nutrition, emphasizing its role in social connections and care.
The Sociology of Food and Education
We discuss the importance of the context in which food is eaten, including family meals and school dining experiences and Michelle highlights the role of food in connecting people and the hidden curriculum in schools related to food. She also mentions the cultural capital aspect of food and how it can be classist, with differences in food provision between socioeconomic groups.
School Food and Socioeconomic Disparities
Michelle shares her research on school food, including the differences in food provision between private and public schools and the impact of budget constraints on meal quality. We discuss the importance of choice in school meals and the resistance from students when their choices are limited. Michelle highlights the challenges faced by schools in providing nutritious meals while managing limited resources and the impact of school policies on food waste.
The Role of Families and Community in Food Education
Central to our discussion is the importance of engaging families in food education and the challenges of maintaining connections between school and home. Michelle highlights the intergenerational educational disadvantage and the impact of alternative education settings on food practices and social skills.
The Impact of School Meals Programmes
Michelle critiques the current school meals programme in Ireland, emphasizing the need for localized and community-based approaches to food provision. She discusses the challenges of providing hot food in schools and the importance of having some form of nutrition available for students while highlighting the need for schools to think about how they can connect food to the curriculum and sustainability messages.
Surplus Food and Community Support
Michelle’s current research focuses on surplus food and its redistribution to community organizations, focusing on the emotional and physical labor involved. She highlights the challenges faced by community organizations during the pandemic and the increased demand for food support and she shares her study on the feasibility of social groceries or social supermarkets in higher education settings to support students in poverty. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the needs of students and the broader issues of food poverty and inequality.
The Role of AI in Education
We discuss the use of AI tools in her academic literacy module, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking skills in engaging with AI while highlighting the equity issues related to access to AI tools and the need for educators to work with AI in a critical and informed way.
A very interesting conversation with lots for us to think about in relation to food at all levels of education.
Let's Talk About Sociology of Education
Dr. Melanie Ní Dhuinn is a Senior Lecturer in Education in Marino Institute of Education and previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the School of Education in Trinity College and Director of the Professional Master of Education in Hibernia College. She is a qualified post-primary teacher (Physical Education and Gaeilge) and now works across primary and post-primary teacher education as a Teacher Educator and a Researcher.
In this podcast Melanie interviews leading researchers, academics, social justice activists, policy makers, curriculum specialists and practitioners as they talk about the Sociology of Education across the continuum of education and how it looks in everyday reality in its many forms and guises.
This is season two of her podcast; “Let’s Talk About the Sociology of Education”, you can listen to season one episodes here. This podcast was developed initially as a resource to support student teachers and others working in Initial Teacher Education to try and make sense of and demystify what can be abstract and dense sociological theories and recognise them in real-time practice. The podcast has gone from strength to strength, now boasting global listenership and interest appealing to many, inside and outside the field of education.
The podcast is broad ranging and covers a range of sociological perspectives, experiences and discussions including Social Justice, Equity and Equality, Disability, Inclusion,Cultural Capital, Schools and Schooling, education systems, technology in education, LGBTQI+ experiences in education, values, beliefs, gender in education, global citizenship, the family and school, emotion in sociology and much more. Tune in to learn from expert researchers, academics and practitioners as we discuss everything and anything sociological within the field of education.
