Summary

There have been several developments (e.g. rising prevalence of obesity and non-communicable disease), and issues associated with food systems such as world hunger, sustainability of food system, and food waste, which add to the argument that food literacy education at school is very important for future citizens. Food literacy education is an important conduit for providing broad food and nutrition-related knowledge and skills which help future citizens to take the wise decisions over their food. Schools have been identified as an important setting for the successful delivery of health education and health promotion, as well as food literacy education. In the Sri Lank education context, food literacy is a relatively novel concept. Prior to incorporating or designing comprehensive food literacy education approaches, there is a need to explore current adolescents’ confidence in food and nutrition-related knowledge and skills and aspects of the present secondary school food-related subjects, and stakeholders’ opinions of this form of education. The proposed research project will reveal the Sri Lankan secondary school students’ confidence in their food and nutrition-related knowledge and skills and this will be the first national-level data related to the food and nutrition-related knowledge and skills of this group. The food-related curricula investigation enables to get an understanding of the strengths, drawbacks, and potential areas for improvements. These findings along with the stakeholders’ opinions of secondary school food literacy education and school food environment will essentially inform the education ministry and other authorities, policymakers, and education leaders in future food literacy-related curriculum revisions and school food education-related policy reforms. Besides, these findings will be used to design a food literacy education e-portal which will include resources to support the teachers in the successful delivery of this form of education.

Objectives

• To identify the strengths, pitfalls, and opportunities for improvement of present secondary school food-related subjects in terms of food literacy domains. 
• To explore the broad range of stakeholders’ (students, teachers, principals, school leavers parents, education administrators, food and health professionals) opinions regarding present school food literacy-related education and their expectations of secondary school food literacy education.
• To explore these stakeholders’ and school food service staff’s views of the current school food environment.
• To determine the students’ confidence in their food and nutrition-related knowledge and skills. 
• To explore teachers’ confidence in delivering the food and nutrition-related knowledge and skills to the students 
• To develop a model food literacy education e-portal for the use of stakeholders (i.e. mainly for the teachers and the education administrators).

Major Equipment Facilitated by Grant