Teacher training for nutrition professors: a tacitly accepted omission?

Abstract

Despite the new roles called in for the National Curricular Guidelines for teachers in nutrition courses, little attention has been paid to the professional development of the nutrition professional acting as a teacher. Based on the work of authors who discuss university teaching, this essay discusses some of the challenges involved in training nutritionists, such as teaching practice and teacher training for the professor in the health field, with the goal of providing higher-quality teaching. The devaluation of teaching and the supremacy of research at universities have been identified as the causes of teachers' resistance to change. This study reveals the need for professors of nutrition to reflect on the questions of university teaching and teacher development from a critical and reflective perspective which can anchor the pedagogical changes needed to train the nutritionist.

Nutritional science; Faculty; Education; Health