This study aimed at examining the way food services were operated in public kindergartens and looked into parents' perception of the way the teacher instructed students on the use of food service.
The following research questions were addressed in t...
This study aimed at examining the way food services were operated in public kindergartens and looked into parents' perception of the way the teacher instructed students on the use of food service.
The following research questions were addressed in the study.
1. How are food services actually operated in public kindergartens? How do parents perceive the operation of food services in public kindergartens?
2. How do parents perceive the way the teacher instructed students on the use of food service?
3. How do parents perceive instructions the teacher give to students on to the use of food service?
The subjects of this study included a total of 150 teachers working in public kindergartens in Seoul that operated a lunch food service and a total of 250 parents. As for research instruments, a questionnaire for the teachers and a questionnaire for the parents, which the researcher produced after modifying and complementing questionnaires used in Kim, Ji-suk's(2003), Kim, Eun-hui's(2004), or Lee, Myeong-ran's (2006) thesis, were employed. The collected data were analyzed and calculated in frequency and percentage using SPSS 12.0. In addition, the mean and standard deviation were calculated in order to examine the way the teacher instructed students on the use of food service and parents' perception of the instruction.
The results were summarized as follows.
First, the instructions the teachers gave on children on the use of food service and the parents' perception of the instructions were examined. As for the most desirable food serving type, the highest number of teachers answered food serving by both the teacher and the parent. The parents also showed the same reaction regarding the desirable food serving type. However, in terms of the amount of food served, the parents emphasized giving individual consideration on each of the children more than the teachers. In addition, more parents thought the food service time was a bit short.
Second, the parents did not agree to the way the teachers gave instructions to the following children: children who eat very slowly; children who secretly throw away food they do not like; children who want to eat only what they like; children who eat fast. The parents and the teachers also displayed differences with regard to the reason for the necessity of linking school and household to teach children eating habits. As for children who eat slowly, lots of teachers chose to reduce the amount of food served to such students, whereas parents answered the order of serving food should be arranged to allow them to be served faster than other children. In addition, with respect to children who secretly threw away food they did not like, the teachers scolded them for their inappropriate behaviors on the spot while the parents said it was more appropriate for the teacher to talk about the matter later after they finish their meals. As for children who wanted more food even before they did not finish their food, the teachers gave food only after they finished their food, while the parents wanted to give more food if they promised to finish their food. With regard to children who finished their meals fast, the parents wanted them to have rest, whereas the teachers instructed them to read books or quietly do limited activities.
Third, the differences between the way the teachers gave instructions on the use of food service and the parents' perception of appropriate instruction before, during and after the meal were examined. At all the items related to instruction on the use of food service before the meal, both the teachers and the parents received high scores, though they displayed some differences. Overall, the mean scores of the teachers were higher than that of the parents. Especially, with regard to the instruction of washing hands, both the teachers and the parents received the highest scores at 4.91 and 4.73 respectively. Furthermore, among items related to dining etiquette before the meal, the teachers and the parents showed a significant difference with regard to the item, stating to eat only after grown ups first eat. While the teachers received the lowest scores of 2.51, the parents recorded 4.26 at the item. As to items related to instructions during the meal, both the teachers and the parents overall received high scores, though they showed differences in scores of 9 out of 17 items. The teachers received higher scores than the parents at the following items: eating food one does not like, with regard to instruction on an unbalanced diet; appropriate dining position, the proper placement of dining utensils, eating food without dropping it, remaining seated during the meal, and finishing the meal within the food service time, with regard to dining etiquette. The parents, on the other hand, received higher scores than the teachers at three items related to dining etiquette. They are the proper use of dining utensils, chewing food well, and eating pleasantly. As for instructions after the meal, the teachers and the parents showed significant differences in the items related to dining attitudes and etiquette. At 3 out of 4 items, the parents received higher scores than the teachers. With regard to returning dining utensils (tray, dish, and so on) one used, the teachers received higher scores than the parents. Whereas, the parents received higher scores than the teachers at the items, brushing teeth after the meal, cleaning the site after the meal, and expressing gratitude.
With regard to difficulties of instructing on the use of food service, the most frequent answer by the teachers was the difficulty of giving individual instruction on each of students, followed by instruction on an unbalanced diet, linking with household. As for what the parents wanted with regard to instruction on the use of food service, the most frequent response was instruction on an unbalanced diet, followed by eating the meal in a pleasant atmosphere, not forcing children to eat food they do not like, and instruction on proper dining etiquette.