Super Healthy Kids eTwinning Project Evaluation Results

SUPER HEALTHY KIDS PROJECT

TEACHERS’ PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST RESULTS

In this study, Super Healthy Kids project applied in the 2020-2021 academic year. The views of teachers who participated in the e twinning project were discussed. Research 2020-2021 education in the academic year Turkey, Portugal and the mission in Bulgaria that took place with the participation of teachers.

The prepared questionnaires were delivered to the participants online. Prepared for teachers the questionnaire form consists of a section and includes 5 questions. The content of the survey questions ıt consists of statements about healthy nutrition in its content.

Within the scope of the research, primarily in order to collect qualitative data before the implementation the questionnaire form prepared by the researcher is given to the teachers who participated has been applied. The questionnaire forms were delivered online to the participants. Questionnaire form data were collected with the participation of the 12 teacher.

FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION 

1-How would you describe healthy living? Please explain with an emphasis on your grocery lists or your habits and make comparisons with other cultures.

When the answers given by the teachers to the questionnaire question were examined: It has been found that teachers are conscious about healthy living and that they improve themselves in this regard. Examples of teacher responses             

Teacher 3: Healthy living is finding a perfect balance between eating and movement. Quitting smoking and drinking a lot of water is also necessary. Bulgarians always have chicken and meat in their shopping list. Tomatoes, cucumbers and cheese ( white brined cheese) are the main ingredients of our traditional salad – shopska salad. Dairy products are very important part of our eating. Seasonal fruits are also included in our everyday food.               

Teacher 11: Our habits in kitchen aren.t so healthy so it became imperative to change them. My grocery list includes only items that I buy directly from the producer, so I can be sure that are healthy products. We kind of started to do this a lot to encourage the local producers and to get a healthier life stile. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, but still love meat (especially grilled, or cooked on fire).

In the pre-test and post-test of the project, the teachers stated that they pay attention to healthy nutrition. For this reason, our project emphasized the importance of healthy eating.

2–How did you make adjustments in your grocery lists or your habits during the pandemic?
They stated that they started to use more vitamins and healthy foods for the nutrition list during the pandemic period. Examples of teacher responses:

Teacher 6: I started to care about nutritional shopping that will increase vitamin consumption in the pandemic.Our home food consumption has increased as we spend longer at home.Of course, our cologne and disinfectant shopping has increased.

Teacher 9: I shopped more online. This led to frozen food and canned food consumption. Once a month, I visit local vegetable markets paying attention to masks and distance and try to balance it by purchasing local products.

Teachers stated that they added more vitamins and necessary products for healthy nutrition to their shopping lists after the project compared to before the project.

3- How do you (or your school administration) help students with an emphasis on healthy living? How did you make adjustments during the pandemic?               During the pandemic, teachers stated that they gave their students the lists required for healthy nutrition. They also said that they provided support in this regard in the Nutrition Friendly school project in their school. Examples of teacher responses:              

Teacher 3: Our school is part of national programmes for healthy eating for young students.This helps them create healthy eating habits. Every day stuents receive fruit, cheese, milk/yoghurt or honey. During the lock down each student received his/her food at home.              

Teacher 8: We provide information on hygiene rules and healthy eating at parent meetings. While the school is open, all necessary hygiene rules have been observed in our school. Canteen inspections are carried out meticulously. My school has “Cleanest School” and “Nutrition Friendly School” certificates.

Teacher 11: We changed our focus on online meetings, but never changed our habits. our kids, in school got daily a fruit, so we changed it with ” eating the fruits together” moments and with ”show me your plate today”. Two games enjoyed both by kids and their parents. 

After the project, it was stated by the teachers that the school administrations and teachers gave more information to the students about healthy nutrition and that their students had more sufficient knowledge about healthy eating.

4- What do you (or your school administration) do to support healthy living in your schools? How did you make adjustments during the pandemic?
Teachers stated that they prepared nutrition lists to support a healthy life.
They said that healthy products are given in order to be less affected by the pandemic period and healthy nutrition training is given in schools. Examples of teacher responses:                

Teacher 8: My school is nutrition friendly and selected as the cleanest school. As school administrators and teachers, we talk to our students at every opportunity about the damages of packaged products containing preservatives. We point out the contribution of nutrition to brain development at every parent meeting. We, as classroom teachers, stand by them in terms of obeying the hygiene rules and bringing healthy foods during feeding hours. During the pandemic process, our school cleaning staff paid attention to school cleaning twice more. The corridor, doors, washbasin and toilets were cleaned during each break. Disinfectants were put into each classroom.

Teacher 6: “Nutrition-friendly school” program has been implemented at school before the pandemic.Nutrition was banned at school to increase the use of masks, first in the pandemic.Later, it was thought that the children could not endure hunger for a long time and the food ban was lifted at school.               

Teacher 10: We organize activities such as healthy meal plate preparation contests, feeding times with mothers, mother meals day, soup day, fruit day.Teachers working in schools in Turkey have said that after the project receives nutrition-friendly school certificate. Teachers working in Bulgaria and Portugal stated that they should practice healthy eating hours in their schools. Within the scope of the project, awareness of the importance of healthy nutrition in the pandemic was raised 

5-How do you teach healthy living to your students in different courses?Teachers stated that they provide healthy nutrition education within the scope of the curriculum. Examples of teacher responses:              

Teacher 2: We do the necessary movements together to be healthy in the Physical Education course. In the Science course, we inform about healthy balanced nutrition nutritional pramit. Together, we organize meal preparation and healthy plate preparation activities              

Teacher 3: With young students we experiment with different foods to show them how much sugar there is in their food (fuzzy drinks, juices, fruit milks/yoghurts, lollipops, etc.) and try to teach them to avoid it. We show them whatt sugar does to their teeth. For older students we have special classes where we teach them to read the ingredients of their food. We try to teach students how important exercising is, especially during the pandemic. 

Teacher 10: As the subjects come into place in the curriculum of the Ministry of National Education, the contents such as nutrition, balanced nutrition, food types, sample meals are processed in the Life Studies course, and awareness is created among students.

When the first and last tests were compared, it was determined that the awareness level of teachers about healthy eating increased. It was realized that the teachers gave training on healthy nutrition with an interdisciplinary approach in their lessons. It has been concluded that the project activities, teachers and school administrators’ perspectives on healthy nutrition have changed.

SUPER HEALTHY KIDS PROJECT

STUDENT PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST REPORT

Within the scope of the Evaluation Activities prepared by our project team, the pre-test, which we prepared within the activity programs, was held in November and Post-test has been applied to our students and in line with their answers, the following report was written. In order to ensure objectivity, the students to whom the tests will be applied are randomly were chosen and asked not to indicate their names. Before and after project activities these surveys, which are applied, tell us whether the project activities are carried out and reaching their goals. provided data to measure the level has emerged.

1-What do you/your family eat to be healthy? How did it change during the pandemic? Our students answered that they generally eat healthy and their families are well-informed about this issue.

Sample answers given by the students:

Student 1: In my family we always eat healty foods like vegetable and meat.We never eat out .My mum always cook both healty and nutritious food .We never eat fast food or junk food. During pandemics, as usual, we eat vegetables and meat that my mom cooks.

Student 2: We prefer to eat a lot of veggies, fresh meat, fish and rice. During the pandemic this doesn’t change because we still have the stores opened.After the project, student responses showed that they provided information about the importance of healthy eating during the pandemic period and that the project created awareness about healthy eating

2- How do you select food when you go to a supermarket? How did it change during the pandemic?Students replied that they usually looked at the package and paid attention to the expiration date. During the pandemic period, they said that they spent a shorter time in the market and they shopped quickly. Sample answers given by the students:

Student 5: I usually select my food by reading the labels that can be found on the back of the package . The pandemic did not change anything about this, but unfortunately I tend to shop more in a hurry because I don’t want fo spend a lot of time in crowded places like supermarkets.

Student 12: I’m selecting healty foods. Beacuse of the pandemic I’m selecting my products with my eyes.In the post test of the project, students answered that they pay attention to social distance in supermarket shopping and prefer healthy products in product selection. They stressed the importance of freshness, expiry date and health of products.

3- Can you give example(s) of different foods consumed in different countries?  Do you think eating different kinds of food would affect people’s health?Students gave examples of different foods consumed differently. These different foods contain different views on their health. Sample answers given by the students:

Student 15: They drink bat soup in China. I think it will affect our health in a bad way.

Student 17: Snakes, dogs, bats, insects, etc… I think that kinds of food affect people’s health in the bad way

Student 1: Foods consumed in different countries: ramen, burgers, pasta, taiyaki, tacos. It is obviously that consuming different kinds of food may change people’s health due to the fact that a man’s body can get used to a certain type of food, while changing it may cause different reactions to its well-being.

In the post test of the project, the students stated that they are healthy in different types of nutrition. In addition, they stated that the diet of the Chinese people during the pandemic period was the cause.

4-When you eat at the school cafeteria, are there any rules (e.g. cleaning your hands) that you follow?
We were washing our hands before meals in the pre-pandemic period at school. With the pandemic, the use of cleaning products such as disinfectants, cologne and masks came to the fore. Sample answers given by the students:

Student 1: Of course. Cleaning hands is the first rule. You cannot buy anything you eant from a school cafeteria in Turkey. For example, it’s forbidden to sell acidic drinks like Coca-Cola for school cafeterias.

Student 7: washing our hands before and after eating, taking our food in order and collecting the leftover food on our plates and brushing our teeth after dinner so that street animals can eat.

Student 9: I do not eat at the canteen. I only prefer closed foods, I wash my hands, I pay attention to the expiration date of the packaging and whether the package is open.

In the post-project test, the students stated that our hands should be washed before meals. They also stated that they should pay attention to the distance when shopping due to the pandemic.