Eating is important for the functioning and growth of our organism. Eating habits are shaped through the process of growing up and then throughout life. Their formation is shaped by many factors. Classroom teachers, who spend a lot of time with their pupils, are one of the many factors important in shaping children's eating habits. It is the time spent together at school, where eating takes place, that makes the teacher a role model whose attitudes towards healthy eating, eating habits and views on school meals influence eating habits of pupils. The aim of the master thesis was to find out the attitudes of classroom teachers towards the food offered by schools to their pupils.
Primary schools organise school meals according to the Guidelines for School Food in Educational Institutions (Ministrstvo za zdravje, znanost in šport, 2021), and most often provide a school snack and lunch, and sometimes a school breakfast and afternoon snack. The classroom teacher is present in the classroom during the meals.
In the research part, we used a quantitative research approach and a survey of 161 classroom teachers to collect data. We found out that teachers are well aware of the importance of healthy lifestyles and the importance of their role in shaping pupils' eating habits. Teachers are an important part of school nutrition, actively participating in many activities that are key to the nutrition of children in school. The attitude of the class teacher towards nutrition is also important for his teaching of nutrition, as he often teaches his pupils by self example. The results can help to better plan and implement nutrition education and promote healthy eating behaviour in children. The role of teachers is to play an active part in designing activities related to nutrition education and nutrition for children at school.
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