A Survey of Nutrition Knowledge and Opinion of Wisconsin Elementary Teachers and Food Service Managers

Conducted by the Wisconsin Nutrition Education and Training (NET) program, this study was designed to (1) assess public and private elementary school teachers' and public school food managers' nutrition knowledge, and (2) to ascertain their opinions on various topics related to nutrition education. The first section of the report provides background information on the development of the Wisconsin NET program and its goals. Information on how the statewide survey was conducted is also included. This section is followed by two major sections. The first describes the development of the Nutrition Knowledge Test and the survey results for this test. The second section presents the survey findings regarding subjects' opinions on the following: the effects of nutrition instruction on students' eating habits; teaching approaches to nutrition education; respondents' perceptions of their levels of nutrition knowledge; and use of the lunchroom as a laboratory for learning about nutrition. More than half of the report consists of six appendices, including general behavioral and performance objectives related to the Informed Food Choice Model; a copy of the Wisconsin NET Nutrition Knowledge Test; the items used to elicit food service managers' and teachers' opinions on nutrition related topics and; copies of letters and directions sent to study participants; a copy of the Nutrition Knowledge Test answer sheet; and item statistics for the Nutrition Knowledge Test. (Author/MP)