Abstract

The purposes of this study were to identify the significance of a nutrition teacher, to analyze the importance of competence as a nutrition teacher and to evaluate the importance and difficulty for duties of nutrition teachers. The questionnaire was distributed to 554 preliminary teachers and a total of 468 usable data were collected with 84.5% of response rate from August to October 2006. The statistical data analysis was completed by using SPSS Win (ver. 10.0) for descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA and chi-sqare-test. The results were as follows: Preliminary nutrition teachers expected that conversion of a school dietitian into a nutrition teacher could lead to systematic and constant nutrition education and come into synergic effect by doing meal service with nutrition education. For a teacher's competence, all three paradigms were perceived as important. It was evaluated to be high for a knowledge factor in the empirical. analytic paradigm, a personality factor in the practical.interpretive paradigm and an attitude factor in the critical.emancipatory paradigm. And 'a knowledge for nutrition and sanitation (4.59)'and 'an ability to raise a selfmanagement capacity for right food habit and dietary life (4.59)'were showed as most important in a nutrition teacher. It appeared that both important and difficult duties of nutrition teachers were nutrition education, nutrition counseling and sanitation quality of nutrition education; the most necessary solution was to develop a reference and program for nutrition education (37.4%). In conclusion, the systematic supports of district offices of education and associated institutions as well as sustained efforts of preliminary nutrition teachers for themselves should lead to establish a successful system of nutrition teachers.

• Keywords: nutrition teacher; competency; duty; school