Research Framework:

 Introduction:

I will start by talking about the significance of the stage of Early Childhood and then narrow it down to the role of nutrition and how that is essential in the stage of Early Childhood Education. After that, I will narrow it down to the role of Early childhood educator and how they affect nutrition in Early Childhood education, and then move on to my research objectives.

• Introduce the topic and provide context for early childhood education in China.
• Foreshadow  the significance of nutrition in early childhood development.
• Role of the ECE 
• State the research objectives.
• How Early childhood educator’s knowledge of nutrition affect children?

Literature Review:

For the Literature review, I will start with finding existing literature and discover the role of nutrition in early childhood development. Then, I will move on to how an educators’ nutrition knowledge can impact on Children’s well being and developments in 5 domains (in early childhood education setting)

• Explore existing literature on the role of nutrition in early childhood development -Discuss the impact of proper nutrition on
  • Cognitive development
  • Physical development
  • Socio-emotional development.

• Review studies focusing on the relationship between nutrition knowledge of educators, how they apply that knowledge in the classroom, and the link to children’s well-being.
• Any relevant case studies that are educator-led 
• What research is this based on and what gap is it filling? 

.

Theoretical Framework:

In this section, I will be finding theories to support my research and discover how these ideas have an impact on early childhood educators’ learning towards nutrition and also how this can impact on students.

• Discuss relevant theories such as Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory.
  • Policy, education systems, nutrition as an institution, how it all relates to the child.
• Explain how these theories support the idea of early childhood educators’ role in fostering healthy nutrition habits.
  • Talk about why educators and nutrition interact uniquely. In China, they  don’t purchase or choose the food but they still have a big social influence on a child’s awareness and their choices

Methods:

In the Method section, I will first start by explaining the research design including the approach and a rationale. I will then move on to my research population. I have already contacted the Kindergarten I have worked in and found another 9 kindergartens who are willing to participate in this research. I will then explain how I will be collecting data toward my research, I will be mainly using surveys and some interviews. I will then be talking about Ethical considerations as this is extremely important in the kindergarten section as this can ensure the result is more unbiased and this might seem sensitive for certain people.

• Describe the research design – exploratory/investigative 
• Define the target population: 500 Kindergartens in Nanjing China and 2000 faculties in these Kindergartens.
• Explain the recruitment methods
• Explain the data collection methods (I will be using surveys, interviews)to assess educators’ nutrition knowledge.
• Ethical considerations: Discuss informed consent, confidentiality, and data handling.

 

Data Analysis:

In this part, I will be using the data I have collected and analyzing it through SPSS, I will then identify and explain the key variables, and then examine the relationship between nutrition knowledge and teaching practices.

• Describe the chosen analysis and rationale 
• process of analyzing collected data through SPSS.
• Identify key variables, examine correlations between nutrition knowledge and teaching practices, and student choices.

Results:

The correlation results suggest/indicate that faculty members who reported eating healthy 5 times a week and having a workout routine had students who chose to add fruit to their lunch plate more often. This relationship suggests that educating faculty members on healthy habits may lead to more healthy nutritional choices in their students.

In this section, I will first present all the results and data analysis. I will be presenting it by comparing it with my research objectives to make it easier and more clear for the audience. Then, I will be more specific toward the result by linking it into the current situation.

• Present the results of the data analysis, organized according to research objectives.
• Highlight educators’ current nutrition knowledge levels, strengths, and areas of improvement.
• Explore the relationship between educators’ nutrition knowledge and its impact on children’s development.

 Discussion:

In the discussion section, I will be talking about some potential challenges in implementing nutrition education, what will be some challenges, and what should early childhood education educators get into consideration about. I will be also talking about the policy from the government and how that might have an effect on nutrition implementation. Lastly, I will be talking about what can be some future research be, what are some of my limits and what can future researchers improve and get in consideration about.

• Propose how the policy will have an effect on nutrition education for kindergarten nutrition implementation.
• Propose recommendations for implementing basic nutrition education into early childhood educator training.
• Address potential challenges in implementing nutrition education within kindergarten settings.
• Future research, my limits and improvement.

Bibliography

• Cite all sources referenced throughout the research framework.