Analysis of Food and Dietary Educational Content in Primary, Middle and High School Textbooks

This study investigated the food and dietary educational content in primary, middle and high school textbooks in order to provide fundamental data for the development of educational programs on Korean traditional food culture. The research objects consisted of 51 kinds of textbooks (15 kinds of primary school textbooks, 29 kinds of middle school home economics textbooks and 7 kinds of high school home economics textbooks), and the contents related to food and dietary education were counted and analyzed. The content analysis was performed using two categories: application method and subject matter. Application method included texts, cases, visual aids (pictures, photos, illustrations, chart, etc.) and activities, whereas subject matter consisted of seven types (well balanced nutrition and health, understanding of food and nutrition, cooking principles, cooking lessons, traditional foods and culture, others). The results of the application method in primary school textbooks show that visual aids were the most common in all six grades. For the subject matter, 'understanding of food and nutrition' was most abundant in primary school textbooks while 'well balanced nutrition and health' accounted for a large part of the contents in middle school textbooks. However, the contents regarding traditional foods and culture were insufficient in primary and middle school textbooks. These results suggest that educational contents on traditional foods and culture should be added to primary and middle school textbooks and covered in various subjects. Furthermore, high school 'home economics' contents need to emphasize comprehensive food and dietary education and adjust to 'science & technology for life'.

초.중.고등학교 교과서에 나타난 식생활 교육 내용 분석