ERIC Number: ED635409
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 212
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3796-5467-2
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Case Study of Nutrition Educators' Perspectives on the Delivery of Virtual Community Nutrition Programming
Anderson, Alyssa Nicole
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, North Carolina State University
Policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic shifted many extension programs from face-to-face delivery to virtual delivery. As a result, community nutrition programming offered through extension shifted. Despite the limited literature that currently exists related to the virtual delivery of adult community nutrition education programming, there are plans to continue this format of delivery in the future. The purpose of the study is to gain insight on how extension nutrition educators in a southern region state navigate the delivery of adult virtual programming. It investigates the following research question: How does the recent shift to a virtual teaching environment influence nutrition educators' experience with the delivery of adult nutrition education? This study uses a qualitative exploratory case study approach. Data collection includes 15 semi-structured interviews with nutrition educators, 43 program impact summaries from 2020-2022 written by nutrition educators, and virtual delivery program guides for four of the main adult nutrition programs offered through Southeastern State Extension. Engestrom's Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) served as the theoretical framework and helped guide data analysis and collection. Three key findings emerged from the data. One finding is that educators feel motivated to deliver programs when their internal values and skills align with their teaching environment, resources, and the organizational culture. Another key finding is that educators continue with virtual delivery when the curricula is favorable to partnering regionally with additional educators. Finally, educators prefer to have flexibility in program delivery. As practice and research continues in this field, virtual program delivery serves as a valuable tool for educators and the communities that they serve. This study's findings also support the need for additional research related to best practices of virtual delivery, the inclusion of additional voices in this research, and the use of CHAT as a useful framework in the future to study nutrition education in-action. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Online Courses, Nutrition Instruction, Extension Education, Extension Agents, Teacher Attitudes, Educational Technology, Adult Education, Teaching Conditions, Partnerships in Education, Delivery Systems
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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