Effectiveness of a Pilot Nutrition Education Program on Pre-Primary Teachers’ Knowledge and Perceptions about Child Nutrition Needs and Anthropometric Skills

Abstract

Early childhood education (ECE) teachers play a critical role in fostering healthy nutrition and physical activity habits in young children, yet studies show that they lack adequate nutrition-related knowledge, confidence, and skills. This pilot study evaluated a nutrition education program aimed at enhancing ECE teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and skills related to child nutrition and the integra
tion of nutrition education (NE) and physical activity (PA) into routine teaching. Using a mixed-methods pre post design, thirty-three purposively selected ECE teachers from thirteen pre-primary schools in central Uganda participated in a three-day nutrition education training grounded in social cognitive theory. Teachers’ nutritional knowledge and perceptions were assessed five weeks before training, while their skills were assessed immediately before the training. Follow-up assessments of knowledge, perceptions, and skills were conducted eight weeks post-training, using the same structured questionnaires and observation checklists. Changes in teachers’ knowledge, perceptions, and skills were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, Chi-square tests, paired t-tests, and thematic content analysis. Test selection was based on data type and distribution. Post training nutrition knowledge scores revealed significant gains in understanding nutrient deficiency diseases (p= .007), malnutrition (p < .001), food intolerances (p = .047), and nutrition assessment methods (p < .001). Teachers’ positive perceptions improved slightly, although the change was not statistically significant.
Teachers’ anthropometric assessment skills significantly improved (p < .001); however, gaps remained in their interpretation of anthropometric measures. Follow-up observations indicated sustained behavioral changes, including teachers engaging children in food demonstrations, construction of school gardens, and more physical activity. Practical in-service training effectively improved teachers’ nutrition knowledge and skills, while reinforcing positive perceptions. Despite the pilot scale and small sample size, these findings suggest the value of providing continuous in-service training to complement traditional teacher educational programs.