Developing an Integrated Framework to Strengthen Interdisciplinary Partnerships for Supporting Classroom Mealtime Practices (Poster 33)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Seven
  In Poster Session: Early Education and Child Development SIG Posters

Abstract

The early care and education (ECE) mealtime is a context in need of strong partnerships between education and nutrition disciplines. Combined knowledge from the field of ECE (i.e., children’s learning and development and child guidance) and from the field of nutrition (i.e., providing adequate nutrients and supporting children’s growth and health) would offer the best guidance for ECE teachers to use high-quality practices that support both learning and healthy eating. This conceptual paper integrates Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) key practice areas and Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) Benchmarks for Nutrition in Child Care to expand the Positive Mealtime Environment (PME) framework and proposes an improved integrated framework to guide the implementation of high-quality teaching and feeding practices during mealtime.

Author

• Adrien D. Malek-Lasater, University of North Florida
  Presenting Author