The School food and nutrition group focuses on food and nutrition education in primary and secondary schools and the food environment in these settings.
We use qualitative and quantitative solutions-focused research to examine food and nutrition issues through the eyes of school staff, principals, teachers, parents and students.
Our group has expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods. We are a team of culturally-diverse, highly experienced public health, nutrition and dietetics academics, early career researchers and PhD candidates.
This group covers:
- Determining the role of the school food environment on individual food practices
- Understanding school food and nutrition teacher education and professional development needs
- Designing and delivering sustainable teacher food and nutrition professional development programs to support and enhance the practice of educators
- Assessing teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in teaching secondary school food and nutrition
- Exploring different approaches to food literacy education practices and outcomes in schools
- Understanding school food and nutrition curriculum content
- Understanding how food and nutrition education is delivered in schools including use of resources
- Exploring how school food environment aligns with food and nutrition education delivery
- Understanding and improving the school food and nutrition environment including food provision, lunch duration, school food policy and governance and use of food gardens
- Exploring food system stakeholders’ perceptions of secondary school food literacy education.
We work with a number of organisations such as VCAA, HEV as well as national and international academic experts in the field.