ERIC Number: EJ799177
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1499-4046
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Enhancing Personal Agency and Competence in Eating and Moving: Formative Evaluation of a Middle School Curriculum--Choice, Control, and Change
Contento, Isobel R.; Koch, Pamela A.; Lee, Heewon; Sauberli, Wendy; Calabrese-Barton, Angela
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, v39 n5 suppl 1 pS179-S186 Sep-Oct 2007
The purpose of this formative evaluation was to examine the impact of an innovative inquiry-based science education curriculum for middle school students, called Choice, Control, and Change, that is designed to foster healthful eating and physical activity and a healthy weight through enhancing agency and competence. The 24-session curriculum helps students develop understandings about the interactions between biology, personal behavior, and the environment and personal agency through cognitive self-regulation skills in navigating today's complex food system and sedentary environment. An extended theory of planned behavior served as the design framework. The study used a pretest-posttest evaluation design involving 278 middle school students in 19 science classes within 5 schools. Based on paired t tests, students significantly improved on several curriculum-specific eating and physical activity behaviors: they decreased several sedentary activities and increased their frequencies of fruit and vegetable intake. They decreased the frequency of sweetened beverages, packaged snacks, and eating at a fast-food restaurant, and ate and drank smaller portions of some items. Their outcome beliefs and overall self-efficacy, but not their attitudes, became more positive. A strategy based on fostering personal agency, cognitive self-regulation, and competence can be effective in increasing healthful eating and physical activity behaviors in middle school children and should be explored further. (Contains 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Middle School Students, Physical Activities, Self Efficacy, Formative Evaluation, Physical Activity Level, Food, Evaluation Methods, Context Effect, Science Instruction, Pretests Posttests, Change Strategies, Self Control, Health Behavior
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A