Efficacy, Intent to Teach, and Implementation of Nutrition Education Increases after Training for Health Educators

Oct 15, 2026

The study examines whether nutrition in-service professional development improves health educators’ self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, outcome values, and intentions to teach nutrition education within a broader school health curriculum. A quasi-experimental design compared teachers participating in an intervention (N=30) with controls (N=29). Results showed significant time-by-group interactions for self-efficacy and outcome expectations, and significant time effects for outcome value and intention to teach.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Purpose and Methods

Results and Discussion

Translation to Health Education Practice

Background

Dietary risks and need for school programs

Teacher training, resources, and theoretical framework

Research Article Efficacy, Intent to Teach, and Implementation of Nutrition Education Increases after Training for Health Educators Mariane Fahlman, Nate McCaughtry, Jeffrey Martin, and Bo Shen ABSTRACT Background: Self-efficacy, outcome expectations, outcome value and strong intentions to teach are linked to teaching competence, curricular implementation and student outcomes. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of nutrition in-service professional development to increase self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, outcome values and intentions to teach nutrition education as part of a broader health education curriculum. Methods: A quasi-experimental design examined teachers’ self-efficacy, outcome expectations, outcome value and intentions to teach in teachers who participated in an in-service intervention (N = 30) and controls who did not (N = 29). Results: A significant interaction between groups over time was found for self-efficacy and outcome expectations. For outcome value and intention to teach, a significant main effect for time was observed. The intervention group scored significantly higher than the control group in both self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Furthermore, scores for intention to teach and outcome values were higher post-intervention. Discussion: Results of this study indicate that in-service training combined with adequate instructional resources increased both teacher self-efficacy and the number of lessons the intervention teachers intended to teach. Translation to Health Education Practice: Because self-efficacy has been strongly linked to teacher effectiveness, efforts should be directed at providing continual training for teachers based on risk behaviors outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fahlman M, McCaughtry N, Martin J, Shen B. School health educators’ self-efficacy, intentions to teach, and implementation of nutrition education increases after in-service training. Am J Health Educ. 2011;42(3):181-190. This paper was submitted to the Journal on August 24, 2010, revised and accepted for publication on February 26, 2011. BACKGROUND Unhealthy dietary patterns have been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the seven behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality.1 Most young people in the United States do not follow eating guidelines established by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans or the Food Guide Pyramid.2 Instead, they are likely to consume too much soda or pop and not enough whole grains, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.2 because eating habits are established early in life and carry over into adulthood,3 an undeniable need exists for the effective implementation of schoolbased health programs to promote healthy eating habits early in childhood. With over 52 million students attending school on a daily basis,4 schools provide an efficient and convenient setting for providing quality nutrition instruction. School-based nutrition Mariane Fahlman is an associate professor in Kinesiology, Health and Sports Studies, Wayne State University, Matthaei 262, Detroit, MI 48201; [E-mail: m.fahlman@wayne.edu. Nate](E-mail: m.fahlman@wayne.edu. Nate)[ ](E-mail: m.fahlman@wayne.edu. Nate)McCaughtry is an associate professor in Kinesiology, Health and Sports Studies, Wayne State University, Matthaei 125, Detroit, MI 48201. programs have demonstrated some promise in changing the nutrition of children. For example, Fahlman and colleagues5 found that after a nutrition education intervention, students increased their intake of fruits and vegetables while simultaneously decreasing their intake of foods with low Jeffrey Martin is a professor in Kinesiology, Health and Sports Studies, Wayne State University, Matthaei 262, Detroit, MI 48201. Bo Shen is an associate professor in Kinesiology, Health and Sports Studies, Wayne State University, Matthaei 125, Detroit

FAQs

How was the study designed and how many teachers participated?

A quasi-experimental design compared an in-service intervention group (N=30) with a control group that did not receive the intervention (N=29).

Which outcomes improved after the training?

Self-efficacy and outcome expectations increased more over time in the intervention group than in controls, and intention to teach and outcome values were higher after the intervention period.

Oct 15, 2026

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