By Dr Olivia Sagan, Head of the Division of Psychology, Sociology & Education at Queen Margaret University

A 2018 World Health Organisation report signals that the number of hungry people in the world is reaching 821 million and limited progress is being made in addressing multiple forms of malnutrition, ranging from child stunting to adult obesity.

At the same time a heightened recognition in Scotland that our country is blighted by food poverty coincides with increased media coverage about Scotland’s all-time high demand for teachers of home economics.

The detrimental impact of poor nutrition on health outcomes, our mental health and our ability to thrive underlines the importance of a well-balanced and healthy diet.

Yet parallel to this understanding runs the paradox of a national obsession with television food programmes and celebrity chefs, which arguably do little to enhance many people’s relationship with food, particularly those who struggle daily with budgeting, planning and cooking balanced meals.

Large numbers of our children are brought up on ready meals and snacks of low nutritional value by parents and carers who, for many reasons, still lack basic cooking skills and nutritional knowledge.

Yet we are now well aware that good local opportunities and community interventions at a grass roots level which equip people to look after their own health can help avoid longer-term problems for individuals, their communities and society more broadly.

But we need more of them – better funded and better embedded into parent and carer groups, health programmes and education. One area where we can really make a direct impact is through ensuring high quality teaching of home of economics in schools.

For more than a decade there have been few direct routes to qualify as a home economics teacher. This important topic – key to helping young people develop an understanding of their own wellbeing, consumer power and resilience, as well as global issues such as conservation, food insecurity, sustainability and global hunger – is routinely overlooked.

In addition, many schools have not given home economics the status it deserves. Often viewed as an option for less academically gifted students, its aprons and ovens image is finally having a much-needed overhaul.

Modern-day home economics has a crucial role to play in improving young people’s awareness of the risks posed by obesity, eating disorders, low self-esteem and the impact of poor diet on their health and wellbeing.

It can also help nurture the critical minds needed to resist the onslaught of consumerist messages and social media presentations of the “ideal body”. On a wider scale, home economics teaching can, in addition, help create more equality of opportunity for young people when food, diet and our relationship with eating are still inextricably linked with social class.

Responding to this need and the questions around it, Queen Margaret University is offering a one-year postgraduate diploma in home economics which will prepare a new generation of teachers. This innovative programme reaches far beyond the areas of food, textiles and cooking.

The PGDE Secondary (Home Economics) offers a research-informed, relevant approach to some of the most pressing issues affecting the development of our younger generation. With a strong emphasis on social science, students will learn to teach in diverse, exciting and challenging classrooms, whilst also gaining research skills, conducting debates and reflecting on what works and why.

With a lack of suitably-qualified graduates to fill the positions, Scottish schools are crying out for home economics teachers – so the future is bright for the right individuals to develop careers within this important and dynamic area of the teaching profession.