Effect of School Breakfast Service on Attitudes Toward Breakfast and School Breakfast of Male Middle School Stu / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to analyze the effect of male middle school students'eating school breakfast on their attitudes toward breakfast and school breakfast. In addition, the effect of school breakfast on breakfast-related eating behaviors and academic achievement was investigated. The study subjects were selected from a male middle school located in Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea. Breakfast was provided at the school for 7 weeks during the 2nd semester of the year 2006. Two sophomore classes were selected for the experimental study. All the students from one class (n = 34; School Breakfast Eaters) have eaten school breakfast while none of the students from the other class (n = 33; School Breakfast Non-eaters) have done so. About two weeks after the school breakfast service was terminated, questionnaires were distributed to the two classes and the responses were analyzed. The results showed that School Breakfast Eaters had more positive attitudes toward breakfast and school breakfast than School Breakfast Non-eaters. In addition, School Breakfast Eaters perceived the positive effect of eating breakfast on their school life more highly than School Breakfast Non-eaters. However there was no significant difference between the two groups in their breakfast eating behaviors in terms of breakfast skipping when the breakfast service was not available. No significant difference was found between the two groups with regards to math score variation before and after school breakfast service. In conclusion, school breakfast for 7 weeks had positive effects on male middle school students'attitudes toward breakfast and school breakfast, although the effect was not confirmed in their breakfast-related eating behaviors after the school breakfast service was terminated.

Dietitian's Job Satisfaction and Perception of Foodservice Quality in Elementary Schools

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the levels of job satisfaction and self-evaluated foodservice quality of dietitians in elementary schools. Out of 130 questionnaires distributed to the elementary school dietitians in In-cheon, 127 were returned and analyzed (98% response rate). The questionnaire included two multipleitem scales for measuring job satisfaction and foodservice quality, respectively. All the items in the scales were coded 1 to 5 for certainly no, no, neutral, yes, and certainly yes and grouped by using factor analyses. Most of the responding dietitians were working for schools in urban areas and had independently-managed on-site kitchens. The 23 items measuring job satisfaction were grouped into 4 factors: Job Duty, Job Condition, Physical Work Environment, and Organizational Environment. The satisfaction score was the highest for Organizational Environment with a value of 3.38 and the least for Physical Work Environment with a value of 2.08. The 22 items measuring foodservice quality were grouped into 5 factors and the mean scores of the levels of Cleanliness, Internal Food quality, External Food quality, Intangible Service Environment and Tangible Service Environment were 4.20, 3.89, 3.54, 3.45 and 2.64, respectively. The levels of job satisfaction and foodservice quality were positively associated with a correlation coefficient of 0.288 (p < 0.01). In particular, the level of job satisfaction was positively associated with foodservice quality in the aspect of Cleanliness, Internal Food Quality, and Intangible Service Environment. The results show that improving dietitians' job satisfaction could contribute to increasing the levels of foodservice quality of elementary schools.

Relationship between Levels of Dietitians' Management Activities and Job Satisfaction in Elementary School Foodservice Operations / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the levels of foodservice management activities and job satisfaction of the dietitians in elementary schools. Out of 130 questionnaires distributed to elementary school dietitians in In-cheon, 127 were returned and analyzed (98% response rate). The questionnaire included two multipleitem scales for measuring foodservice management activities and job satisfaction, respectively. All the items in the scales were coded 1 to 5 for 'certainly no', 'no', 'neutral', 'yes', and 'certainly yes' and grouped by using factor analyses. Most of the responding dietitians were working for schools in urban areas and have independently managed on-site kitchens. The 19 items on food service management activities were grouped into 6 factors and the mean scores of the levels of Personnel Hygiene Management, Education & Training, Sanitation & Safety Management, Menu Quality Management, Service Management, and Environment Management were 4.76, 4.26, 4.24, 4.05, 3.61 and 3.39, respectively. The 23 items on job satisfaction were grouped into 4 factors and the mean scores of the satisfaction levels of Systematic Environment, Job Duty, Job Condition, and Physical Environment were 3.38, 2.83, 2.53, and 2.08, respectively. Overall, the levels of food service management activities and job satisfaction were positively associated with a correlation coefficient of 0.254 (p < 0.01). In particular, satisfaction levels on job duty itself and systematic environment were positively associated with the levels of overall management activities. The results suggest that improving dietitians' job satisfaction could increase the levels of management activities of school foodservice dietitians, resulting in quality improvement of school food service.

Satisfaction of Elementary Students Eating School Lunch; Association with Level of Involvement in School Lunch Service / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the students' levels of involvement in school lunch service and their satisfaction levels with the service. A survey was conducted with 5th and 6th grade elementary students eating school lunches. Out of 1,680 questionnaires distributed to the students from 14 schools, 1,254 complete questionnaires (74.6%) were analyzed. The questionnaire included two 5-point multi-item scales for measuring levels of involvement in and satisfaction with school lunch service, respectively. A factor analysis grouped 20 items measuring school lunch satisfaction into three factors: 'food satisfaction', 'nutrition & sanitation satisfaction', and 'service & environment satisfaction'. As a result of multiple regression analyses controlling the influence of such variables as students' grades, gender, school location, years and places of eating school lunches, students' levels of involvement in school lunch service was proven to be positively associated with levels of school lunch satisfaction overall, as well as satisfaction levels in regard to 'food', 'nutrition & sanitation', and 'service & environment', respectively. It was suggested that efforts such as nutrition education to increase students' levels of involvement in school lunches could be a useful strategy to improve students' satisfaction with school lunch service.