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

NCT06926907 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB-22-0373
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 95
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Child Obesity

Keywords

Teacher intervention; Montessori schools; Obesity Prevention; Nutrition education; Randomized control trial

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Change from Baseline in the mean Nutrition Knowledge at 12 week follow-up

  Teachers' nutrition knowledge was measured using subscales 1 and 2 from the revised General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ-R).

  From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.

• Change from Baseline in the mean Nutrition Self-efficacy at 12 week follow-up

  Nutrition self-efficacy was determined using the Dewar's Nutrition Self-Efficacy Scale.

  From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.

• Change from Baseline in the mean Nutrition teaching self-efficacy at 12 week follow-up

  Nutrition teaching self-efficacy was determined using the Nutrition Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale.

  From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.

• Change from Baseline in the mean cultural competence at 12 week follow-up

  The Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale Teachers' was utilized to measure teachers' cultural competence.

  From enrollment to the end of the 12 week follow-up.

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm received the 6-week online T.E.A.C.H. program.

Behavioral: The Teacher Education and Classroom Habits (T.E.A.C.H.) Program

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

The Teacher Education and Classroom Habits (T.E.A.C.H.) Program BEHAVIORAL

The T.E.A.C.H. Program utilized essential constructs of the Social Cognitive Theory to deliver virtual nutrition education to Montessori teachers over a 6-week period. The intervention consisted of four program components: 1. An interactive online nutrition education platform with 6 modules was developed using a WordPress website. Each module contained 5 topics including adult nutrition, child nutrition, classroom food practices, cultural practices, and teacher-parent communication. Teachers were provided login information via email containing a unique identifier to be used as their username and were prompted to complete one module per week for 6 weeks; 2. Live weekly virtual education sessions were held via Zoom to supplement and reinforce the online learning experience; 3. A Montessori-based nutrition curriculum with 6 weekly lessons to utilize in the classroom was provided to each participant; 4. Educational handouts to be disseminated to parents.

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• 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.

You may not qualify if:

• 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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Florida International University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Florida International University

Miami, Florida, 33330, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pediatric Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Obesity; Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: This study employed a cluster randomized waitlist control design.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 8, 2025
• First Posted: April 15, 2025
• Study Start: June 6, 2023
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2024
• Study Completion: July 30, 2024
• Last Updated: April 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)