Impact of a Service-Learning-Based Community Nutrition Course on Students’ Nutrition Teaching Self-Efficacy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a service-learning (SL) course on student self-efficacy (SE) in teaching nutrition in the community. Students in the experimental group (n=20) were enrolled in a Community Nutrition SL course, and students in the control group were in a Public Health Nutrition non-SL course (n=63). To build SE, students need to practice their skills in an appropriate setting. Service-learning, a pedagogy combining academic learning with service in the community, is an ideal framework for this preparation. The SL course consisted of a 6-week pre-SL training designed to increase SE through skills-based training, observation, and practice and a 6-week SL experience in which students taught a pre-packaged curriculum in the community. Researchers developed the Self-Efficacy in Teaching Nutrition in the Community (SET-NC) survey to evaluate changes in student SE for teaching nutrition in the community. Experimental and control groups took the SET-NC survey three times during the semester. Using time 1 as a covariant, results from a repeated measures ANCOVA indicated the experimental group had significantly higher SE scores than the control group at both time 2 (p=0.008) and time 3 (p<0.001). The SL course increased students’ SE in teaching nutrition in the community, and other nutrition and dietetics programs may benefit from a similar SL course design. Researchers are currently validating the SET-NC survey in a nationwide population to provide a useful tool for measuring students’ SE in teaching nutrition in the community.