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Children’s perspectives on lunchtime practices: Connecting with others

ABSTRACT Supporting prosocial participation and mental health during school lunch has been studied over the past decade, yet surprisingly little in-depth research has addressed how children experience and perceive social participation during school lunch. This ethnography examines the complexity of social participation during school lunch from the child’s perspective in a United States suburban school. Data gathering strategies included interviews, participant observations, drawing/creating collages, and reflective notes. Analysis involved coding, the development of themes, and using a transactional perspective to highlight contextual aspects of the social lunchtime situations. Three themes captured how social participation occurred during school lunch: creating social spaces, engaging in social interaction, and reinforcing/modifying relationships. The contextual aspects of the school lunchtime are discussed. Findings suggest that despite the undesirable environment and the unpredictable nature of how social participation transpires in a school lunchroom, the four child consultants successfully navigated the complexity to plan to sit near peers, engage with them, and sustain relationships. Additionally, students engaged in multiple lunchtime occupations simultaneously (e.g., social participation, eating, and play). Implications include supporting children’s social development and health in schools, school policy on lunchtime, and for researchers, focusing on the contextual aspects of situations to inform the study of occupation.