Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nutrition knowledge of kindergarten teachers and their attitude toward kindergarten lunch and snack service programs. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 293 kindergarten teachers from January to February 1995. The results were as follows : 77.8% of the kindergarten teachers were taking part in the school meal service program. Most teachers were interested in the special training in child nutrition management, however, only 34.0% of the respondents had taken the nutrition related courses. The average score of nutrition knowledge of kindergarten teachers was 15.9$\pm$2.9 out of possible 28 points. They had better knowledge on such subjects as nutritional physiology and food choices for children, but had lower scores on practical subjects as calorie and nutrient value of food, cooking and nutrition management for children. When they chose snack items for children, teachers highly considered the nutritional value of snacks. Milk, cornflakes & milk, steamed potato, boiled egg, orange, apple and gimbap were their favorite choices for children's snacks. Other factors to be considered included children's preference, convenience in food service, and price of snack.

• Keywords: nutrition; knowledge; kindergarten; snack; food service;