ABSTRACT

Barriers and supports to nutrition education in the early childhood classroom are most often presented from in-service teachers’ perspective. Little work has been done to understand pre-service early childhood educators’ perceptions of barriers and supports before entering the classroom. The purpose of this study was to identify early childhood pre-service teachers’ perceived barriers and supports to nutrition education. Using phenomenology, eleven in-depth telephone interviews were conducted with early childhood pre-service teachers from two public universities in North Carolina. Three major themes were revealed: (1) identification of barriers and supports, (2) individual perceptions of nutrition education and the potential influence of barriers and supports, and (3) educational background and training. Pre-service teachers reported human resources (e.g. colleagues, collaborators, administrators), resource availability (materials, time), and policy constraints as anticipated barriers and/or supports. Participants’ perceptions of how they would experience barriers and supports in practice varied, but teachers were generally positive about their ability to overcome potential barriers and obtain needed support. Implications and recommendations for teacher-education programs and the early childhood field are discussed. Relevant pre-service trainings, integration of nutrition education into curriculum, and development of teacher self-efficacy are needed to prepare teachers to navigate barriers and supports in early childhood education.

摘要

幼儿课堂营养教育的障碍和支持最常从在职教师的角度提出。很少有工作来了解职前幼儿教育工作者在进入课堂之前对障碍和支持的看法。本研究的目的是确定幼儿职前教师对营养教育的感知障碍和支持。使用现象学，对来自北卡罗来纳州两所公立大学的幼儿职前教师进行了 11 次深入的电话采访。揭示了三个主要主题：（1）识别障碍和支持，（2）个人对营养教育的看法以及障碍和支持的潜在影响，以及（3）教育背景和培训。职前教师将人力资源（例如同事、合作者、管理人员）、资源可用性（材料、时间）和政策限制报告为预期的障碍和/或支持。参与者对他们在实践中如何遇到障碍和支持的看法各不相同，但教师普遍认为他们有能力克服潜在障碍并获得所需支持。讨论了对教师教育计划和幼儿领域的影响和建议。需要相关的职前培训、将营养教育纳入课程以及发展教师自我效能感，以帮助教师克服幼儿教育中的障碍和支持。和政策限制作为预期的障碍和/或支持。参与者对他们在实践中如何遇到障碍和支持的看法各不相同，但教师普遍认为他们有能力克服潜在障碍并获得所需支持。讨论了对教师教育计划和幼儿领域的影响和建议。需要相关的职前培训、将营养教育纳入课程以及发展教师自我效能感，以帮助教师克服幼儿教育中的障碍和支持。和政策限制作为预期的障碍和/或支持。参与者对他们在实践中如何遇到障碍和支持的看法各不相同，但教师普遍认为他们有能力克服潜在障碍并获得所需支持。讨论了对教师教育计划和幼儿领域的影响和建议。需要相关的职前培训、将营养教育纳入课程以及发展教师自我效能感，以帮助教师克服幼儿教育中的障碍和支持。讨论了对教师教育计划和幼儿领域的影响和建议。需要相关的职前培训、将营养教育纳入课程以及发展教师自我效能感，以帮助教师克服幼儿教育中的障碍和支持。讨论了对教师教育计划和幼儿领域的影响和建议。需要相关的职前培训、将营养教育纳入课程以及发展教师自我效能感，以帮助教师克服幼儿教育中的障碍和支持。