Implementing a culinary program into the school day measuring nutritional attitude, self-efficacy, behavioral intent and eating behaviors

This dissertation looked at the theory based approaches used to implement nutrition education in the school setting. The purpose of this study was to determine if a culinary cooking program using the Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters Curriculum was beneficial in changing the attitude toward healthy eating, self-efficacy, behavioral intent, and eating behaviors of adolescent females. Meals made by program participants were looked at in the study to see if the program had an impact on increasing meals made outside of the curriculum. Data were gathered from both the Coordinated Approach to Child Health After-School Student Questionnaire (CATCH ASSQ) and Share our Strength's Cooking Matters for Kids and Cooking Matters for Teens Surveys.;Only slight changes were seen in attitude and behavior with no changes in self-efficacy occurring. An increase in meals made at home, cooking skills, and behavioral intent were the most changed variables after data analysis was conducted using SPSS 20.0. Recipes made in the curriculum were reportedly recreated at home by 97%-100% of program participants.;Results from this research could be used to encourage school districts to incorporate a culinary nutrition education program into their curriculum or after-school programs. Partnering with an organization such as Share Our Strength is an effective way to provide such programs in the school setting. Future research should expand the curriculum to focus on salient behaviors such as those influenced by the media and interactions with the environment to better promote behavioral change. Frequency of family meals should also be measured by future research.