Food and Meal Science is an interdisciplinary research and education field at Kristianstad University with a vision to create a sustainable and healthy society. The field includes the areas “Nutrition and Health”, “Food Science” and “Food Culture and Communication” and is based on science, craftsmanship and creativity. Developing the creative elements of our educations is currently a strategic focus. Psychology literature points to the importance of self-efficacy, i.e. the belief in one’s own ability, for successfully achieving creative outcomes (Tierney and Farmer, 2002). Research in the intersection between education and psychology have reveled effective methods for supporting the development of creative self-efficacy, e.g. allowing students to experience mastery and working with verbally ensuring students of their creative abilities (Mathisen & Bronnik, 2009). It could be hypothesized that teaching inspired by these principles will markedly increase creative self-efficacy and hence creativity among our students as well.

With the overall goal to develop shared knowledge and to improve contextual factors to create a learning environment that promotes creativity a questionnaire for monitoring creative self-efficacy levels among students over time has been developed through adaptation of Tierney and Farmers (2002) method in order to measure how our teaching methods influence creative self-efficay. The questionnaire has been presented to approximately 40 students in the study programs connected to Food- and Meal Science.

The results from the questionnaire as well as course evaluations will be used as a starting point to improve contextual factors and to create a learning environment that support creativity.