Haristoula Hatzinikola

Dr. Haristoula Hatzinikola

Preschool Education and Educational Design, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece
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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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20 June 2025 in Dietetics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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Haristoula HatzinikolaHaristoula Hatzinikola
Haristoula Hatzinikola
VPVasileios Filippos Papavasileiou
Vasileios Filippos Papavasileiou
NANikolaos Andreadakis
Nikolaos Andreadakis
Antonios E. KoutelidakisAntonios E. Koutelidakis
Antonios E. Koutelidakis
Background: Nutrition literacy, defined as “the skills to comprehend and implement nutrition information into everyday practice”, is a new area of study. Preschool teachers affect children’s perception of nutrition and health and contribute to their nutrition literacy skills. Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the level of nutrition literacy (NLS-Gr) of preschool teachers. Methods: The research included two stages of cluster sampling in a sample of kindergarten teachers in Greece (Rhodes Island). Nutrition literacy was assessed with the NLS-Gr, the Greek version of the NLS, and adherence to a Mediterranean diet with the MedDiet score. Results: The mean NLS-Gr score was 25.87 (SD ± 2.2) and is considered adequate. The correct answers range from 65.1% to 100%. The MedDiet score was calculated at 33.94 (SD ± 3.8), and no correlation was found between the MedDiet score and the NLS-Gr. The NLS-Gr score of kindergarten teachers was adequate, higher than that of previous research on different populations. Conclusions: The study concluded that adherence to the Mediterranean diet requires improvement, and food waste needs to be reduced. Educators should be empowered through targeted educational interventions to improve their dietary habits and, therefore, enhance students’ health and nutritional behaviors. Further research is needed to contribute to formulating nutrition strategies and policies in kindergarten.

14 March 2025 in Preprints.org
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Haristoula HatzinikolaHaristoula Hatzinikola
Haristoula Hatzinikola
VPVasileios Filippos Papavasileiou
Vasileios Filippos Papavasileiou
NANikolaos Andreadakis
Nikolaos Andreadakis
Antonios E. KoutelidakisAntonios E. Koutelidakis
Antonios E. Koutelidakis
Nutrition literacy, defined as “the skills to comprehend and implement nutrition information into everyday practice”, is a new area of study. Preschool teachers affect children’s perception of nu-trition and health and contribute to their nutrition literacy skills. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the level of nutrition literacy (NLS-Gr) of preschool teachers. The research included two stages of cluster sampling in a sample of kindergarten teachers in Greece (Rhodes Island). Nutrition literacy was assessed with NLS-Gr, the Greek version of NLS, and adherence to Mediterranean diet with MEDDIET score. The mean NLS-Gr score was 25.87 (SD±2.2) and is considered adequate. The correct answers range from 65.1% to 100%. Meddiet score was calculated at 33.94 (SD±3.8), and no correlation was found between Meddiet score and NLS-Gr. The NLS-Gr score of kindergarten teachers was adequate, higher than that of previous research on different populations. Yet their adherence to the Mediterranean diet requires improvement and food waste reduction. Educators should be empowered through targeted educational interventions to enhance students' health and nutritional behaviors. Further research could contribute to formulating nutrition strategies and policies in kindergarten.

29 December 2023 in Έρευνα για την Εκπαίδευση στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες και την Τεχνολογία
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Journal Article
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Haristoula HatzinikolaHaristoula Hatzinikola
Haristoula Hatzinikola
ΓΚΓεώργιος Κρητικός
Γεώργιος Κρητικός
VPVasileios Filippos Papavasileiou
Vasileios Filippos Papavasileiou
Στο ελληνικό νηπιαγωγείο, η υγιεινή διατροφή προωθείται μέσα από το αναλυτικό πρόγραμμα, στο πλαίσιο της βιωματικής μάθησης και της διαθεματικότητας, ενώ την ευθύνη της διατροφής των νηπίων έχει η οικογένεια. Σκοπός της παρούσας έρευνας είναι να διαπιστωθεί η βελτίωση του εγγραμματισμού των τροφίμων των νηπίων και ειδικότερα η κατανόηση της έννοιας της σπατάλης τροφίμων, μέσα από την εφαρμογή μίας διαδραστικής ψηφιακής ιστορίας. Τα παιδιά χωρίστηκαν σε δύο ομάδες, μία ελέγχου και μία πειραματική. Η ομάδα ελέγχου συμμετείχε σε μία παραδοσιακή διδασκαλία σχετικά με την υγιεινή διατροφή και τη σπατάλη τροφίμων. Η πειραματική ομάδα συμμετείχε στην εξέλιξη μίας διαδραστικής ψηφιακής ιστορίας, στην οποία ένα παιδί –ο κεντρικός ήρωας– επιλέγει υγιεινά μικρογεύματα και γεύματα, ενώ η κάθε επιλογή επιδρά διαφορετικά στο περιβάλλον και στην υγεία του. Στο τέλος, τα παιδιά και από τις δύο ομάδες κλήθηκαν να εμπλακούν σε δραστηριότητες αξιολόγησης σχετικά με τον εγγραμματισμό των τροφίμων και τη σπατάλη τροφίμων.

17 October 2026
Verified
Book Chapter
Closed access
Georgios KritikosGeorgios Kritikos
Georgios Kritikos
Haristoula HatzinikolaHaristoula Hatzinikola
Haristoula Hatzinikola
Contemporary school communities face complex educational and psychosocial challenges that require integrated approaches to student well-being and resilience. This chapter proposes a counselling-informed framework that reconceptualizes the nutrition curriculum as a pathway for fostering school resilience. Grounded in ecological and multisystem resilience theory, the chapter positions nutrition education as a curriculum-embedded domain that supports psychosocial and relational development. Through participatory Citizen Science methodologies, students engage as co-researchers investigating food-related practices within their school communities. Inquiry, reflection, and collaborative action strengthen student agency, collective efficacy, and school connectedness, while school counsellors facilitate psychological safety and interdisciplinary collaboration. By linking curriculum, counselling, and participatory pedagogy, the chapter offers a whole-school perspective on resilience building.

26 October 2026 in Preprints.org
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Elena HadjimbeiElena Hadjimbei
Elena Hadjimbei
KTKaterina Bograkou Tzanetakou
Katerina Bograkou Tzanetakou
ITIrene Tzanetakou
Irene Tzanetakou
Haristoula HatzinikolaHaristoula Hatzinikola
Haristoula Hatzinikola
Food choice is a multidimensional behaviour shaped by interactions among biological, psychological, social, cultural, economic, and environmental determinants. Understanding how these influences combine is essential for explaining food choice and identifying barriers to healthier dietary behaviours. This narrative review synthesises literature identified through searches of PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar and organises the determinants of food choice into food-related, individual, and socio-environmental domains. Food-related influences include sensory properties, palatability, and nutritional composition. Individual influences encompass appetite regulation, reward responses, emotions, nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy, habits, and learned experiences. Socio-environmental influences include household practices, cultural norms, affordability, accessibility, and marketing. The review also considers established behavioural theories, including the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Health Belief Model, and Social Cognitive Theory, alongside behaviour-change approaches such as COM-B and nudge/choice architecture. The synthesis highlights how these domains may jointly facilitate or constrain healthier choices: nutrition knowledge may be limited by affordability and availability, emotional responses may interact with food reward and environmental exposure, and sensory acceptance may develop within family routines. Building on these relationships, the review links selected combinations of determinants to potential intervention priorities and specific research questions. Future research should distinguish stated preferences and intentions from observed purchasing and consumption and examine these relationships over time in everyday settings. This perspective can inform the development and evaluation of context-sensitive strategies for nutrition practice and public health.

24 December 2025 in Διάλογοι! Θεωρία και πράξη στις επιστήμες αγωγής και εκπαίδευσης
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Journal Article
Open access
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ΓΚΓεώργιος Κρητικός
Γεώργιος Κρητικός
Haristoula HatzinikolaHaristoula Hatzinikola
Haristoula Hatzinikola
ΈΧΈλενα Χατζημπέη
Έλενα Χατζημπέη
Η παρούσα έρευνα διερευνά τη θέση των εννοιών της διατροφής και της αειφορίας στα Αναλυτικά Προγράμματα προσχολικής εκπαίδευσης εστιάζοντας, τόσο στην Ελλάδα, όσο και σε επιλεγμένες ευρωπαϊκές χώρες (Κύπρος, Σουηδία, Νορβηγία και Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο). Η έρευνα αποσκοπεί στην ανάλυση του τρόπου ενσωμάτωσης των δύο αυτών εννοιών, με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στη σύνδεσή τους με το γνωστικό πεδίο των Φυσικών Επιστημών. Μέσω ποσοτικής ανάλυσης περιεχομένου, εξετάστηκαν η συχνότητα εμφάνισης των σχετικών όρων και η θεματική τους τοποθέτηση στο εκάστοτε Αναλυτικό Πρόγραμμα. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν σημαντικές διαφορές μεταξύ των χωρών. Στην Ελλάδα, η διατροφή εμφανίζεται κυρίως στο πλαίσιο της Φυσικής Αγωγής, χωρίς όμως να αναπτύσσεται από τη σκοπιά των Φυσικών Επιστημών, ενώ η αειφορία παρουσιάζεται σε περιορισμένο βαθμό, συνήθως αποσυνδεδεμένη από επιστημονικά ή διεπιστημονικά πλαίσια. Αντίθετα, το σουηδικό Αναλυτικό Πρόγραμμα φαίνεται ως παράδειγμα καλής πρακτικής, με την αειφορία να διατρέχει το σύνολο των γνωστικών πεδίων, περιλαμβάνοντας έντονη παρουσία στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες. Η Κύπρος καταγράφει υψηλή ενσωμάτωση, κυρίως με...