The purpose of the present study lies in determining the effect of green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning on young children’s nutritional knowledge and dietary attitudes.
In accordance with the purpose of the present study, the following research questions were established:
1. What is the effect of green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning on young children’s nutritional knowledge?
2. What is the effect of green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning on young children’s dietary attitudes?
3. What is the effect of green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning on the learning transfer of young children’s dietary attitudes?
As for the objects of the present study, one class each of five-year-olds enrolled in D Kindergarten in G dong (district) and in S Kindergarten in B dong, (both in Daejeon), were randomly selected. Then, green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning was implemented on the experimental group (total: 25; male: 15; female: 10), and general nutrition education was implemented on the comparison group (total: 25; male: 12; female: 13), in a total of sixteen classroom sessions from October 2014 to December 2014.
As for the measuring instruments used in the present study, based on inspection by three experts on young children’s education, Hong Yeon-hong’s (2013) nutritional knowledge testing instrument and Jo Jeong-hwa’s (2014) dietary attitudes testing instrument were used after modification and supplementation as testing instruments for both and homes to suit the purpose of the present study. Each testing instrument was analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 program, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was implemented with each group’s pre-test score as the covariate.
A summary of the results of the present study is as follows:
First, in terms of the total sum and sub-elements of nutritional knowledge of both the experimental group that had received green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning and the comparison group that had received general nutrition education, the experimental group that had received green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning exhibited a slight increase in nutritional knowledge in comparison with the comparison group that had received general nutrition education, but there were no statistically significant differences.
Such results can be seen as showing that, in terms of the contents of the existing nutrition education and of the green food education implemented in the present study, the contents per element of the nutritional knowledge necessary for young childhood were included and young children understood the basic nutritional knowledge.
Second, when the dietary attitudes of the young children in the experimental group and the comparison group before and after the education were measured, there were statistically significant differences in the total dietary attitudes and the subordinate factors.
Third, to determine the effect of learning transfer on dietary attitudes, when the young children’s dietary attitudes at home were measured, there were statistically significant differences in the total dietary attitudes and the subordinate factors
Such results can be seen as showing that green food education based on practical problem-solving-centered learning had a positive effect on dietary attitudes practiced in kindergarten and that learning transfer applied to similar situations at home.
Consequently, the results of the present study will be used as basic data to comparatively analyze food education contents and, in particular, as evidence to support the idea that problem-solving-centered
learning, which can be practiced in young children’s lives, is an effective teaching and learning method for not only learning within but also for learning transfer within the scope of young children’s lives.