Teacher Evaluation of an Experiential Vegetable Education Program for Australian Primary Schools: Does Face-to-Face Training Add Value above Digital Training?

Abstract

The teacher-led implementation of healthy eating programs in schools is cost-effective and potentially impactful. Teacher acceptability is important for uptake; however, process evaluations are scarce. This study evaluated the effect of two intensities of teacher training on the evaluation of a vegetable education program for Australian primary schools by teachers. The teachers (n = 65) who implemented the program as part of a cluster RCT (25 schools in two states, New South Wales and South Australia) received either low- (provision with materials and online training) or high (additional face-to-face (F2F) training)-intensity training prior to implementing a 5-week vegetable education program. They evaluated the acceptability of a digital training module and program by indicating the level of agreement with 15 and 18 statements, respectively, using 5-point Likert scales. The average item scores ranged from 3.0 to 4.2. All but one item, including student engagement, alignment to the curriculum and intent for reuse of the program, had a rounded average or median score of 4. The level of training intensity did not impact the teacher acceptability ratings. In conclusion, the teacher acceptability was good, and additional F2F training does not add value above the solely digital training of the teachers.

Keywords: acceptance; child health; cluster RCT; implementation science; primary school; process evaluation; schoolteacher; vegetable.

Figure 1

Comparison between the acceptability ratings of the previous (pilot, [16]) and current (modified) versions of the vegetable education program on 11 statements (median and SE) on a scale of 1–5 based on the responses from the New South Wales teachers (n = 27 in the pilot study [16] and n = 38 in the current study). p-values indicate statistically significant differences between groups.