Development of a Multicultural Education Integration Framework in BS Nutrition and Dietetics Curriculum

The purpose of this study was to develop a multicultural education integration framework for the BSND curriculum, which could serve as a guide for RND educators in integrating multicultural competencies into their teaching. The goal was to equip students with multi-cultural competencies and enable them to provide quality nutrition care to diverse cultural backgrounds. A mixed-methods design was utilized, with 25 RND educators from colleges and universities in NCR selected through purposive sampling. The study assessed RND's multicultural competencies—awareness, knowledge, and skills- and explored how these competencies were integrated into the BSND curriculum. The findings revealed differences in how these aspects were acknowledged and applied inside the classroom and in professional practice. Among the multicultural competencies reported, multicultural skills were highly recognized, multicultural knowledge was moderately recognized, and multicultural awareness was the least recognized, indicating a critical gap in this compe- tency among participants. Regarding the extent of integration of multicultural education competencies in the existing curriculum, the key findings revealed that they were not integrated throughout the program. Although it existed in some courses, results revealed in consistencies and a lack of integration and continuity. The overall findings of this study suggested the need for curriculum reform in the Nutrition and Dietetics program to address the identified gaps. The study presented valuable insights into the current state of the BS Nutrition and Dietetics program in the Philippines and the significant competencies of the RNDs that must be strengthened for professional practice.