Influence of home economics on the nutrition knowledge and food skills of Mauritian school adolescents

Abstract

In Mauritius, the school curriculum does not support the need to develop sound nutrition knowledge and food skills to combat the rising incidence of non‐communicable diseases. This study looks at whether adolescents who had been taught Home Economics had better nutrition knowledge than children who had not. Self‐administered questionnaires were used to collect data from adolescents, Science teachers and Home Economics teachers, randomly selected from 12 co‐educational secondary schools. It was found that the overall nutrition knowledge did not differ significantly. However, Home Economics teaching was associated with better food skills, especially among boys, and was found to be the main source of nutrition‐related information. Opines that active learning methods and Home Economics should become compulsory in all secondary schools. This was the first study of its kind conducted in Mauritius. Findings would be of most value to teachers and policy‐makers in the field of education.