OUTCOMES FROM A SCHOOL-BASED NUTRITION EDUCATION-PROGRAM USING RESOURCE TEACHERS AND CROSS-DISCIPLINARY MODELS

The Integrated Nutrition Project is an ongoing comprehensive elementar y school-based program focused on increasing consumption of whole grai ns, fruits, and vegetables in children and establishing nutrition educ ation ill the schools through local partnerships. This paper reports o n years three and four outcomes. It was hypothesized that blending Soc ial Cognitive Theory with the educational philosophies oi Piaget and D ewey would enhance behavior change. The primary intervention consisted of (1) 24 weekly hands-un activities taught by a resource teacher and (2) Sis parent-taught lunchroom ''mini-lessons.'' Classroom activitie s were designed to reinforce concepts in math, science, literacy, and social studies. The quasi-experimental design used classrooms in match ed schools: 20 and 17 classes were in treatment and comparison conditi ons, respectively, in year four. Surveys, interviews, and lunchroom pl ate waste were used to assess children; teachers were interviewed. Stu dents in treatment classrooms achieved significantly greater gains in knowledge and self-efficacy regarding food preparation and fruit and v egetable consumption and consumed 0.4 more National Cancer Institute e quivalent servings oi fruits and vegetables in the lunchroom. Teachers responded favorably to the resource teacher model and the hands-on ap proach. The project's outcomes were attributed to the intervention's t heory-based behavior change focus and the use of a resource teacher wh o ensured consistent delivery of the intervention. Program implication s include the need to explore variations of the resource teacher model and the potential for implementation on a larger scale.