• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.342-351
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the dietary behavior of day-care center teachers and their meal attitudes during meal time in Jeonju area. Self administered questionnaires were collected from 266 day-care center teachers who worked in a national(public) or private day-care center. The Statistical data analysis was conducted using SPSS v. 12.0. All subjects were women, and 64.7% were married(p<0.001), over more than 60% were junior college graduates(p<0.05), and 73.7% had salaries greater than 1,000,000 won(p<0.001). The breakfast skipping ratio of the subjects was very high, and about 66.5% of the respondents had irregular meals. The snack intake ratios of the subjects in private day-care centers were higher than the subjects in national(public) day-care centers(p<0.001). Approximately 56% of the subjects responded that education about eating is very important for providing balanced nutrition to young children. About 84% of subjects had no experience with the continuing-education program for teachers(p<0.01), and they wanted to know more about balanced nutrition. The meal attitude education score during meal time was $4.53{\pm}0.36$. The relationship between meal attitude education and the dietary behavior of day-care teachers was significantly different based on the "frequency of overeating"(p<0.05) and "self-recognition of eating habit"(p<0.05). These findings suggest that a nutrition education program for day-care center teachers should be developed so that they can effectively manage meal attitude education for young children and provide good nutrition for themselves.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.242-253
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sustainable practices of nutrition science teachers and dietitians working in school food service operations, and identify the social and psychological factors which affect the overall efficacy of the system. The research model was constructed based on the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (ETPB) in order to analyze how individual motivation affects the sustainable practices of nutrition science teachers and dietitians. The data were collected through e-mail and postal mail from nutrition science teachers and dietitians all across Korea, and self-administered surveys were conducted. SPSS and AMOS programs were used for statistical analysis. First, the sustainable practices of nutrition science teachers and dietitians were analyzed in 6 different categories. Second, the significant pathways were 6 out of 9 in the ETPB model. Sustainable food service practices in school can contribute to the formation of more a sustainable culture, such as through the encouragement of more healthy eating habits, and higher level of environmental awareness and community awareness. The factors influencing these practices can be applied to the design of improvement programs aimed at increasing sustainable practices.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.112-124
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• 2013

This study was conducted to investigate how child-care teachers participate, practice mealtime instruction, and perceive difficulties in food service, focusing on comparison between the teachers caring two different age groups: children younger than three years (Younger Group) and those three years or older (Older Group). Questionnaires were distributed to 151 child-care centers in Kwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea during December, 2011. Only the data from 25 child-care centers, where two respective teachers in charge of Younger Group and Older Group completed the questionnaires, were analyzed. The results showed that there was no difference in terms of child-care teachers' participation in food service practice between the two groups, except for serving method; 'Pre-plated' serving was used significantly more often in Younger Group, whereas 'Line-up' serving was used in Older Group. Approximately, three quarters of the child-care centers had policies or guidelines on mealtime instruction. During mealtime, child-care teachers tended to use frequently verbal instructions such as "sit up straight when you eat" about eating manner, "don't be picky with your food" about eating habit, and "wash your hands before eating" about eating procedure in both the groups. There was no statistically significant difference regarding child-care teachers' perceived difficulties in food service between the two groups. These results indicated that child-care teachers' participation and mealtime instruction in food service did not differ between the two age groups, although children's development of digestion and eating skill differed by age. Therefore, training should be provided to child-care teachers about food service practices and mealtime instruction appropriate to children's age.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.45-59
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• 2011

This study was conducted to investigate employee food-hygiene and nutrition awareness and performance and to study the current education programs for children at child care centers and kindergartens located in Seoul, Republic of Korea. A self-evaluated type of questionnaire was developed for foodservice employees and teachers using a five-point Likert scale. Employees with an employment history of <1 year and who were <30 years old had the lowest scores for food-hygiene and nutrition awareness and performance. Employees with a cooking license had a higher awareness score regarding cross-contamination than those without a license. Higher nutritional awareness and performance scores were also observed for employees who had more experience as cooks and who had received a nutrition education than those who did not. Approximately 94% and 76.4% of the employees had experience in sanitation and nutrition education, respectively. Most teachers responded that food sanitation-nutrition education for children seemed necessary in a child-care center; however, only 63.9% of the teachers actually taught sanitation-nutrition education to children. The biggest limitation to conduct food sanitation-nutrition education was the "lack of professionalism" of teachers, because only 48.1% of teachers had received a sanitation- utrition education. Thus, a food sanitation-nutrition education program for foodservice employees and teachers must be developed and implemented actively to improve the quality of food service and nutrition education in child care centers and kindergartens.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.190-205
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• 2009

The purposes of the study were to identify knowledge and skill levels required for effective nutrition teachers and to compare perceived need and dietitians' self-evaluation of the knowledge and skills. A total of 60 knowledge statements and 70 skill statements associated with 11 job functional areas were specified through a literature review and expert panel reviews. A total of 457 dietitians working at school foodservices in Seoul and Gyeonggi province were surveyed using a self-administrated questionnaire and 148 responses were returned. Excluding responses with significant missing data, 142 responses were used for data analysis. In terms of knowledge, 'sanitation, food safety and employee safety(4.60)' category received the highest perceived need score, followed by 'nutrition education(4.56)' and 'nutrition counseling(4.45).' The knowledge category that received the highest self-evaluation was 'nutrition and menu management(3.66)' while the category that received the lowest self-evaluation was 'teaching practices(2.83).' In terms of skills, the highest perceived need was associated with 'nutrition education(4.49)', followed by 'sanitation, food safety and employee safety(4.46)' and 'nutrition counseling(4.39).' The dietitians rated their skills related to 'sanitation, food safety and employee safety(3.67)' the highest but their skills related to 'teaching practices(2.84)' the lowest. The dietitians' self-evaluated knowledge and skill scores were significantly lower than their perceived need of the knowledge and skills in all job functional areas(p<0.001). A quadratic analysis based on the requirement and self-evaluation of the knowledge and skills revealed that priorities of the education programs targeting school nutrition teachers or students preparing to be a nutrition teacher should be placed on improving knowledge and skills related to nutrition education, nutrition counseling, teaching practices, sanitation and employee safety, and nutrition and menu management. Educational programs for nutrition teachers should be designed to decrease the gaps between the need and self-evaluation of the knowledge and skills for effective nutrition teachers. The findings of the study can be used to develop education materials for nutrition teachers. The knowledge and skills identified in the study should be updated and revised regularly to reflect changes in regulations and current practices in school foodservice programs.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.685-694
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• 2015

In the present study, we conducted in-depth interviews with school dieticians and nutrition teachers to determine the local foods they were aware of and their experiences with local foods. We also aimed to obtain more detailed measures for local food vitalization and suggestions for improvements. In-depth interviews were performed with 8 school dieticians and nutrition teachers, who stated that local food vitalization was needed for school food services, because it could be a foundation for securing safefood products, student healthi mprovements, environmental protection, and the establishment of a general consumption market. However, they were aware of a higher number of disadvantages than advantages in school situations and indicated the deterioration of the quality of food products as the biggest disadvantage. The most-suggested measurement items for local food vitalization in schools included improvement of the food distribution system, expansion of education, information sharing, prevention of monopolies, improvement of food-product quality, and mass production. In addition, it was suggested that school dieticians and nutrition teachers should invest efforts in the development of excellent recipes and varied diets utilizing local foods. Therefore, system supplementation is urgently required in order for school food service officials, and consumers, to efficiently introduce and vitalize local foods. It is also necessary to foster an environment that encourages trust-based relationships with producers to maximize the effect of system supplementation. This would be the foundation for improving the health of students, improving food-service quality, nutrition management, and vitalization of the regional economy in the future, and will positively affect students' food consumption patterns even after they become adults.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.114-128
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• 2024

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of nutrition teachers and the factors influencing their intention toward sustainable dietary education utilizing the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Methods: The self-administered online survey was completed by nutrition teachers in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. A total of 151 valid questionnaires were analyzed. Factor analysis and multiple regressions were employed to test the research model. Results: The study findings demonstrated that all TPB variables significantly influenced the sustainable dietary educational intention, with the degree of influence ranking as follows: external perceived behavioral control (β = 0.417), attitude (β = 0.240), internal perceived behavioral control (β = 0.207), and subjective norms (β = 0.181). For external perceived behavioral control, nutrition teachers and elementary schools exhibited higher levels compared to dietitians and middle/high schools, respectively. The participants in sustainable dietary education training programs exhibited a higher level of internal perceived behavioral control compared to those who did not participate. The highest perception levels were reported for attitude (4.26), followed by subjective norms (4.02), internal perceived behavioral control (3.67), and external perceived behavioral control (3.20). Conclusions: This study affirmed that the TPB variables elucidated the sustainable dietary educational intentions of nutrition teachers. The significant impacts of external and internal perceived behavioral control, attitude, and subjective norms on educational intentions were confirmed. Consequently, proactive support from schools and governments is essential to enhance the facilitating factors and mitigate the barriers toward sustainable dietary education in schools.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.39-51
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• 2023

This study utilized qualitative research to understand the changes taking place in adolescent dietary behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and the current status of school-provided nutrition counseling. These, along with barriers and strategies for improvement, were derived from focus group interviews with 10 nutrition teachers. Throughout the pandemic, adolescents experienced various dietary problems, including frequent meal skipping, unbalanced diets, increased obesity, and difficulties building positive attitudes towards food. To resolve these dietary problems, nutrition teachers recognized the need for school-provided nutrition counseling. However, nutrition teachers faced various barriers, such as a lack of time for nutrition counseling among students, lack of support from parents, and insufficient space and resources. To revitalize school-provided nutrition counseling, strategies such as home-connected nutrition counseling, the development of standardized guidelines, manuals for school-provided nutrition counseling, software support for nutrition diagnosis, and implementation of nutrition counseling in connection with cooking activities were proposed. This is important as school-provided nutrition counseling can help develop the foundation for healthy dietary behaviors and health promotion in adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.40-55
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to provide basic information on the development of nutrition education programs to improve the mealtime behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by investigating the mealtime behavior and food preferences of children with ASD through the perception of special education teachers. Surveys were given to 108 special education teachers in special education schools in Korea regarding the demographic characteristics, nutrition education support needs, mealtime behavior, and food preferences of children with ASD. Most of the special education teachers responded that nutrition education in special schools had not been conducted properly and nutrition education for ASD children is necessary. Mealtime behavior analysis classified the behavior into three clusters: cluster 1, 'less problematic mealtime behavior'; cluster 2, 'general feature of autism'; cluster 3, 'difficulty in self-directed diet'. The age, eating habits, and food preferences were different according to each mealtime behavior cluster. Therefore, it will be necessary to develop a nutrition education program based on the characteristics of mealtime behavior.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.181-191
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• 2016

This study aimed to investigate current nutrition education and effective plans for nutrition teachers in schools. Data were collected by a face-to-face questionnaire. Surveyed schools were elementary, middle, and high schools at percentages of 32.4%, 35.1%, and 32.4%, respectively. Percentage of nutrition education was above 90%, whereas off-line education was very uncommon in middle (8.3%) and high schools (27.3%) compared with elementary schools (63.6%), (p<0.05). Satisfaction of nutrition education was also very low in middle (7.7%) and high schools (8.3%) when compared with elementary schools (41.7%), (p<0.05). The main reason for this was due to 'work overload of mealing service (44.4%)' and 'insufficient time of students (25.9%)'. Effective education plans were as follows: beginning of education and education scale were 'elementary school (67.6%)' and 'below 20 people (81.1%)', and the most preferred counterplan was 'development of diverse education programs (4.81 score)' > 'systematic education process (4.76 score)' > 'professional nutrition education (4.51 score)'. Most important duty was 'nutrition education and consultation (51.4%)', although it achieved the lowest satisfaction at a score of 2.46. Overall analysis, demand and awareness of nutrition teachers for nutrition education were very high. Therefore, an institutional strategy and environmental improvements are required by setting up curriculum subjects and developing diverse education programs for systematic nutrition education.