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Yeoh, Kwon, and Yoon: Teachers' Participation and Mealtime Instruction in the Food Service at the Kwanak-gu Child-care Centers: Comparison between Child-care Teachers Caring Different Age Groups, Children Younger than Three Years and Those Three Years or Older
Original Article
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition

Korean Journal of Community Nutrition 2013; 18(2): 112-124.

Published online: 30 April 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2013.18.2.112

Teachers' Participation and Mealtime Instruction in the Food Service at the Kwanak-gu Child-care Centers: Comparison between Child-care Teachers Caring Different Age Groups, Children Younger than Three Years and Those Three Years or Older

Yoonjae Yeoh1, 2, Sooyoun Kwon3, Jihyun Yoon1, 2, 3

1Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

2Research Institute of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

3Geumcheon-gu Center for Children's Foodservice Management, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Jihyun Yoon, Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea. Tel: (02) 880-8750, Fax: (02) 884-0305, hoonyoon@snu.ac.kr

Received 24 October 2012       Revised 5 March 2013       Accepted 9 April 2013

Copyright © 2013 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition

(open-access):

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: child-care teachers, mealtime instruction, food service practice, child-care centers

Figures and Tables

Table 1
General characteristics of the responding teachers at child-care centers
kjcn-18-112-i001

1) By chi-square test, 2) By t-test

Table 2
General characteristics of the food service at child-care centers
kjcn-18-112-i002

1) By chi-square test

Table 3
Current status of teachers' participation in the food service at child-care centers
kjcn-18-112-i003

1) By chi-square test

2) Only the case of snack and meal served by staff.

Table 4
Current status of policies or guidelines on mealtime instruction at child-care centers
kjcn-18-112-i004

1) By chi-square test

Table 5
Teachers' perception on mealtime instruction at child-care centers1)
kjcn-18-112-i005

1) Each item was measured by 5-point scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

2) By t-test

Table 6
Teachers' mealtime instruction at child-care centers1)
kjcn-18-112-i006

1) Each item was measured by 5-point scales ranging from 1 (never using) to 5 (always using).

2) By t-test

Table 7
Teachers' perceived difficulties in the food service and mealtime instruction at child-care centers
kjcn-18-112-i007

1) By chi-square test

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