Multilevel Implementation Outcomes and Ecological Factors of Project-Based Learning in Elementary Cooking and Nutrition Education: A Mixed-Methods Study in China

This study assessed the implementation outcomes and ecological factors of Project-Based Learning (PBL) in elementary cooking and nutrition education within China’s labor curriculum reform. Synthesizing the “gold standard” PBL criteria—seven essential design elements of high-quality PBL—with the Social Ecological Model (SEM), a six-element analytical framework was constructed. A quantitative content analysis of 530 official PBL case reports from elementary schools across 24 provinces was conducted, supplemented by qualitative semi-structured interviews with 11 urban teachers. Results indicated that PBL represented only 15.42% of all cooking and nutrition education cases. While existing PBL cases demonstrated strong performance in assessing cooking literacy (73.96%) and integrated competencies (69.62%), notable limitations persisted. Specifically, 43.21% of cases lacked driving questions, professional guidance was scarce, and food safety content was minimal. Correlation analyses revealed that interdisciplinary integration and experiential learning designs were positively associated with competency outcomes. Qualitative findings attributed these implementation challenges to limited teacher PBL competence, inadequate school-level resource systems, and superficial home-school-community collaboration, reflecting individual, organizational, and community-level barriers within the SEM. The study concludes that PBL implementation remains nascent. In response to the identified limitations, multilevel strategies are proposed: systematic driving questions to remedy their widespread absence; integrating professional expertise such as nutritionists and chefs while embedding food safety content; strengthening systematic teacher professional development to close the competence gap; and institutionalizing home-school-community collaborative mechanisms, thereby providing actionable pathways for optimizing future curriculum practices. These findings help policymakers refine curriculum standards, resource allocation, and teacher training for elementary cooking and nutrition education.