Performing Department
College of Ag. and Life Sci.
Non Technical Summary
There is a labor shortage of food scientists in food and beverage industries, particularly in rural areas. More food scientists are needed to solve key problems (food safety, nutrition, food waste, food loss, and energy usage and wastewater). Enrollment in food science undergraduate degree programs has steadily decreased since 2013 across the U.S. and specifically North Carolina. In North Carolina high schools, less than 0.5% of the student population is enrolled in state-approved food science courses.The project goals are to (1) increase the extent to which food science is taught in secondary education; (2) increase enrollment and diversity of food science students entering higher education; (3) build a community of practice teaching foods science in North Carolina secondary education; and (4) facilitate economic development through increasing the number of food scientists employed in the rural food industry.The objectives are to:Recruit 45-60 secondary educators to participate in an 80-hour nationally recognized teaching certification workshop to improve teacher self efficacy.Recruit 15 secondary educators to "food science teachers fellows," and provide them with professional development experiences consisting of job shadowing and experiential learning at food companies in their local areas and culminating in development of learning experiences for students with contextual references to their communities and local employers.Host regional and statewide outreach events to bring together a diverse population of industry representatives and 700+ high school students for conversations and hands-on, real world activities to facilitate recruitment of students to food science majors and careers.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The project goals are to (1) increase the extent to which food science is taught insecondary education; (2) increase enrollment and diversity of food science studentsentering higher education; (3) build a community of practice teaching foods science inNorth Carolina secondary education; and (4) facilitate economic development throughincreasing the number of food scientists employed in the rural food industry.
Project Methods
The proposed project will increase secondary educators' food science literacy and exposure to career opportunities; which will increase the number of NC secondary education students exposed to food science courses and careers. The ultimate goal is an increase in the diversity and number of students pursuing higher education and careers in food science. We believe this approach could be implemented in other states to further develop the workforce.This project will take an innovative and multi-pronged approach using evidence-based practices to engage secondary educators in five types of experiential learning activities: (1) CASE Institute Food Science and Safety Workshops; (2) Food Science Teacher Fellows Program; (3) Networking and Seminars Program; (4) Conversations with Food Scientists; and (5) an NC State Invitational.