Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions and the Impact of a Nutrition-Integrated Pilot Curriculum

Alicia Cooper Stapp,Kathy Knight,Melinda Valliant

doi:10.22158/wjer.v8n2p48

Alicia Cooper Stapp, Kathy Knight + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.22158/wjer.v8n2p48

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Abstract

Studies have demonstrated the positive effects of nutrition education on elementary students’ overall well-being. However, teachers continue to report a lack of instructional time, suitable curriculum, self-efficacy, and support as barriers to integrating nutrition into the daily curriculum. To address these barriers, this study developed and implemented a 16-week standards-based nutrition-integrated curriculum entitled Fuel to Learn. Participants included fourth-grade teachers (N=9) across North Mississippi. Qualitative observational data were collected via teacher feedback after each Fuel to Learn lesson through a web-based portal. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data and were categorized as follows: (a) supporting student engagement of nutrition and academic skills with integration; (b) ease of delivery with integrated methods; and (c) meeting the demands of classroom differentiation. Quantitative data were also collected at the conclusion of the study through a curriculum evaluation survey, providing further insight into teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum. Similar to the qualitative findings, survey results suggest that teachers perceived the curriculum to be engaging, suitable, and developmentally appropriate.

Highlights

Literature abounds with evidence that many children and adolescents in the United States do not receive adequate nutritious meals on a consistent basis and are not exposed to sufficient nutrition education (Banfield, Liu, Davis, Chang, & Frazier-Woord, 2016; Edwards & Cheeley, 2016; Ning et al, 2015; O’Dea, 2016;)
The integration of content related to nutrition as a pedagogical approach is often perceived by teachers as a daunting task with multiple barriers such as lack of support, instructional time, and responsibility towards delivering nutrition education (O’Dea, 2016; Hall et al, 2016; Perikkou et al, 2015)
It is important to emphasize that schools provide an opportune environment to deliver effectively designed nutrition education curricula while increasing levels of core academic knowledge and student engagement (Black et al, 2015; Berezowitz et al, 2015; Perera et al, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Literature abounds with evidence that many children and adolescents in the United States do not receive adequate nutritious meals on a consistent basis and are not exposed to sufficient nutrition education (Banfield, Liu, Davis, Chang, & Frazier-Woord, 2016; Edwards & Cheeley, 2016; Ning et al, 2015; O’Dea, 2016;). 2) for teachers to deliver more difficult topics (Stage et al, 2018) Even though these studies suggest that nutrition can act as a catalyst to positive academic outcomes, they do not examine teacher barriers, perceptions of program feasibility, or children’s engagement when learning nutrition content. The researchers aimed to increase student engagement and improve teachers’ perceptions of teaching nutrition in the classroom by mitigating the barriers revealed in the literature through an integrated approach to the curriculum. At the conclusion of the study teachers were asked to complete an evaluation survey of the Fuel to Learn curriculum that was adapted from a teaching practices survey related to the integration of nutrition and academic content (Shriner et al, 2010). This visual assisted in providing a summary about the sample and the measures derived from the analysis (Trochim, 2000)

Result

Findings

Discussion