Development and Evaluation of the T.E.A.C.H. Study: A Randomized Control Trial

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Child Obesity

• Registration Number: NCT06926907
• Lead Sponsor: Florida International University

Brief Summary

Using a randomized control design, this study seeks to develop and evaluate a nutrition intervention to increase Montessori teachers' nutrition knowledge, nutrition self-efficacy, nutrition teaching self-efficacy and cultural food competence to improve teachers' eating behaviors, nutrition teaching practices, classroom food practices, and teacher-parent communication. This study will examine the feasibility and efficacy of a nutrition intervention for teachers which will include a nutrition education program via an online platform and hands-on Montessori-based curriculum to teach nutrition in the classroom. Teachers from multiple schools will be recruited using the public national Montessori listserv. This study will enhance teachers' nutrition knowledge which may increase their nutrition teaching practices and improve their personal nutrition habits. Improving teachers' personal and classroom nutrition practices may improve teachers' personal health outcomes and may positively impact their students through modeling of healthy behaviors and improving the classroom food environment.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-06-06
• Primary Completion: 2024-07-30
• Study Completion: 2024-07-30
• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Study First Submitted: 2025-04-08
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-04-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-08
• Study First Posted: 2025-04-15
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-15

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 95

Inclusion Criteria

Teachers were considered eligible to participate in the study if they taught in early childhood classrooms (students 3 to 6 years old), were ≥ 18 years old, and had access to an electronic device with internet connection and audiovisual capabilities.

Exclusion Criteria

Teachers were deemed ineligible to participate if they were not fluent in English (written & verbal) or had plans to leave their place of employment during the study timeframe

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change from Baseline in the mean Nutrition Knowledge at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	Teachers' nutrition knowledge was measured using subscales 1 and 2 from the revised General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ-R).
Change from Baseline in the mean Nutrition Self-efficacy at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	Nutrition self-efficacy was determined using the Dewar's Nutrition Self-Efficacy Scale.
Change from Baseline in the mean Nutrition teaching self-efficacy at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	Nutrition teaching self-efficacy was determined using the Nutrition Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale.
Change from Baseline in the mean cultural competence at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	The Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale Teachers' was utilized to measure teachers' cultural competence.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change from Baseline in the mean classroom eating behaviors at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	Teachers' eating behaviors were measured using the Teacher's Classroom Eating Behaviors tool
Change from Baseline in the mean classroom food practices at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	Classroom food practices were determined using Classroom Food-Related Practices-to-Limit Scale.
Change from Baseline in the mean nutrition teaching practices at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	Subscale 2 of the Nutrition Education Practices (NEP) Survey for Teachers and Foodservice Directors was utilized to measure nutrition teaching practices.
Change from Baseline in the mean teacher-parent nutrition communication at 12 week follow-up	From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.	Teachers' communication with parents was measured using subscale 2 of the Teacher-Parent Contact Scale.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Florida International University; 🇺🇸 Miami, Florida, United States