• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.147-171
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine low-income households' financial problems and the demand for financial counseling. For these purposes, a survey of 500 low-income households was conducted by an on-line survey company. The results were as follows. First, four types of low-income households classified by income and job criteria were: the not-working poorest (16.2%), the working poor (27.0%), the not-working low-income (13.8%), and the working low-income (43.4%). Also, seven areas of financial problems were found through factor analysis. They included difficulty of survival, insufficient funds for special expenditures, defaults on financial obligation, decrease of income, increase of debts, emotional anguish, and difficulty in meeting living expenditures. 61.6% of respondents requested financial counseling, and 44.5% of them preferred internet counseling to counseling by phone or in-person, while 49.5% desired access to public counseling organizations. The five types of financial counseling content for low-income households that were found through factor analysis were financial planning, credit management, asset management/investment, public support, and use of credit cards. The low-income householders demanded financial planning counseling and pubic support counseling more than the other types of financial counseling. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the demand for financial counseling participation was significantly influenced by age and income. The demand for financial counseling content was age, income, and types of financial problems. Therefore, general financial counseling programs for low-income households should be expanded. Furthermore, those counseling programs can be useful if they not only include credit management but also financial planning, economic support information and savings.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.626-635
• /
• 2009

The purposes of the study were to identify a comprehensive competency list related to the jobs of nutrition teachers and to compare the competency needs for nutrition teachers and dieticians' competency levels. Job functional areas and a competency list for nutrition teachers were developed based on a review of literature and revised through expert panel reviews. A total of 53 competency statements associated with 11 job functional areas were specified. Questionnaires were distributed to 457 dieticians engaged in school food service and 148 responses were returned (response rate: 32.4%). Excluding incomplete responses, 142 questionnaires were used for data analysis. Approximately half of the respondents were enrolled in an 1-year nutrition teacher certificate program, 25% in a graduate school of nutrition education, and 19% had completed an 1-year nutrition teacher certificate program. The dieticians highly rated requirements of the competencies related to sanitation and employee safety, nutrition counseling, nutrition education, and teaching practices; in contrary, their competency levels for nutrition education, nutrition counseling, and teaching practices were low. Respondents' competency levels were significantly lower than the required competency levels of effective nutrition teachers in all functional areas. A quadratic analysis based on the requirement and self-evaluation of the competencies revealed that priorities of education programs targeting school nutrition teachers or students preparing to be nutrition teachers should be placed on improving competencies related to nutrition education, nutrition counseling, teaching practices, sanitation and employee safety, menu management, and human resource management. These results can be used to develop curriculum materials for basic and continuing professional education for nutrition teachers. It is necessary to review and update competencies regularly to reflect environmental changes in school food service programs.