Study on Job Training for Specialty Enhancement of School Nutrition Teachers: In Gyeongbuk Area

ABSTRACT

The present study was performed to evaluate the job training needs of school nutrition teachers in order to enhance their specialty. Three hundred and forty questionnaires were distributed to school nutrition teachers working at primary and high schools in the Gyeongbuk area while 45 were distributed to professors during 2010~2011. Three hundred and two questionnaires from school nutrition teachers and 33 from professors were returned and analyzed. The rate of teachers practicing nutrition education was 54%, and the educational content was obtained mainly from the internet. The top three problems the teachers encountered were 'lack of standardized educational materials', 'inexperience of teaching', and 'insufficiency of expert knowledge'. The teachers recognized 'training program' as the best solution. However, the job training program operated immediately after teachers were appointed scored only 3.03 out of 5.00. Important contents of the training program ranked highly by the teachers were 'development of education materials', 'nutrition counseling', and 'teaching method'. The professors included 'expert knowledge' in their top three contents. Both the teachers and professors agreed to increase the frequency of 'practice' in training methods. Other factors the teachers considered to be important were high quality, diversity, ability of the instructor, training cycle, and the institution in charge. From these results, it can be concluded that efficient job training programs are needed for school nutrition teachers according to the importance of the education contents and training methods. It is therefore suggested that a cooperation committee be composed of an educator, educatee, and related personal in a local education office in order to operate the program.