IMPACT OF THREE APPROACHES TO NUTRITION INSTRUCTION ON FOURTH-, FIFTH-, AND SIXTH-GRADE PUERTO RICAN STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of three approaches to instructing a nutrition education unit for Puerto Rican students in grades four through six. The unit used in this study was translated from Nutrition In A Changing World, a curriculum designed by nutritionists and educators at The Pennsylvania State University.;All of the students were pretested and posttested for nutrition knowledge; selected groups were assessed for nutrition attitudes and food preferences. The instruments used for these measures were Spanish versions of culturally adapted instruments used with the unit: the Nutrition Knowledge Test, Attitude Toward Nutrition Scale, and Food Preference Form, respectively. Results indicated significant differences among treatments in nutrition knowledge and food preference scores. No significant differences in attitude were measured. A marked decrease in solid and liquid waste during the school lunch program was also reported.;It was demonstrated that the translated unit from the curriculum, Nutrition In A Changing World, was effective when supported by local, cooperative community effort instead of federal funding.;Following a pilot study consisting of 90 students, 540 students were divided into 3 treatments for 12 weeks of instruction: treatment A provided students with instruction of the unit by a teacher using recommended audio-visual materials and food samples; treatment B provided teacher instruction and audio-visual materials; and treatment C provided pupils only self-instructional activities from the unit. A two-day in-service training session was held to familiarize teachers and other school district personnel with the curriculum to be used.