PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET: ONLINE SURVEY
GU ref no: HREC/2026/0374
Research Team
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Prof. Donna Pendergast
d.pendergast@griffith.edu.au
Ph: 0466 130 479
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Senior Investigator
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Director Engagement
Arts, Education and Law Group
Griffith Institute for Educational Research
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Dr. Harry Kanasa
h.kanasa@griffith.edu.au
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Research Supervisor
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Acting Program Director, Secondary Education
School of Education and Professional Studies
Griffith Institute for Educational Research
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Sarah McManus
s.mcmanus@griffith.edu.au
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Researcher
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PhD Candidate, Senior Research Assistant
School of Education and Professional Studies
Griffith Institute for Educational Research
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What is the purpose of this research?
Food is linked to each of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Food challenges, including waste, overconsumption, unsustainable agricultural practices, and the inability to self-manage food and health, perpetuate unsustainable food behaviours that undermine progress towards the SDGs by 2030. The UN advocates that quality, sustainable food literacy education for youth is essential to reducing the impact of unsustainable food practices on achieving the SDGs. This strategy relies on teachers to demonstrate a high level of self-efficacy in teaching sustainable food literacy.
This study will investigate the self-efficacy of in-service and pre-service teachers who teach students aged 11-16 years about food. This will highlight the professional development needs of secondary school food educators to support this important work.
What you will be asked to do
You will be asked to participate in an online survey that asks about your self-efficacy in teaching sustainable food literacy. The topics surveyed include self-efficacy in teaching instruction, adapting instruction to individual needs, motivating students, maintaining classroom behaviour, cooperating with colleagues and parents, and coping with change. The survey also explores your preferences and needs for professional development in sustainable food literacy, and includes a section for demographic information. The survey is written in English and designed to be completed in no more than 20 minutes, with most questions as single-response items to reduce the time required to finish.
How are participants being selected for the study?
In-service and preservice teachers studying or teaching food education through Home Economics, Family and Consumer Sciences, or another equivalent subject area to 11-16 year old students are eligible for inclusion in this study. Participants will be recruited via links to the digital survey distributed by the International Federation for Home Economics and other connected international associations.
What are the benefits of this research?
The benefits of this research may include:
- The identification of the self-efficacy strengths and challenges of teachers and pre-service teachers who teach sustainable food literacy worldwide.
- The identification of specific food sustainability topics and skills that teachers and pre-service teachers who teach sustainable food literacy would benefit from professional development in.
- Participants self-reflecting on and developing self-awareness of their individual self-efficacy in teaching sustainable food literacy.
What are the potential risks to participants?
It is not expected that participants will be affected by completing the survey. However, some participants may experience the following:
- Mild emotional discomfort: may be experienced when self-reflecting on self-efficacy while answering questions
- Time commitment: the survey should take no more than 20 minutes to complete, which may be a minor inconvenience.
If you experience emotional discomfort and wish to discuss this further, we recommend reaching out to professional support services in your local region. This may include online resources, and phone or internet chat support services. Find A Helpline is a free, confidential service that can assist in the location of a support service near you: https://findahelpline.com.
Participant Confidentiality, Anonymity, and Data Storage
The survey has been designed to ensure that all participant responses will remain anonymous and nonidentifiable in any publications arising from the study or by any third parties. The survey data will be stored in an electronic, password-protected file at Griffith University for five (5) years from the final publication date, after which it will be destroyed. The GU Research Storage platform (https://research-storage.griffith.edu.au/) will be used.
Voluntary participation
Your decision to participate in this study is voluntary, and you do not need to answer every question unless you wish to. This study will not affect your relationship with your employer, school, place of employment, or affiliations with other organisations. If, at any stage, you decide to withdraw from the study, you are free to do so without giving any reason.
Questions and further information
If you have any further questions about the study, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the research team.
Research ethics
Griffith University conducts research in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. This study has been approved by the Griffith University Human Research Ethics Committee (GU ref no: HREC/2026/0374) If you have any concerns or complaints concerning the ethical conduct of this study, we recommend you contact The Manager, Research Ethics, Office for Research, Bray Centre, Nathan Campus, Griffith University (Ph: +61 07 3735 4375 or Email: research-ethics@griffith.edu.au).
Research Feedback and Outcomes
The results of this study will be published by Griffith University in academic journal articles, professional reports, conference presentations, and a Doctoral thesis. Study participants will not be identifiable within any of these forms of publication. Participants can access a plain language summary of the research results via email request.
Copyright Consent
This research involves the collection of your written comments, which may be published as part of the research data and within reports. You will not be identifiable through these comments.
There are 29 questions in this survey.
