AN ACTION RESEARCH ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTHY NUTRITIONAL HABITS IN PRESCHOOL STUDENTS

İlker Kösterelioğlu, Emel Çelik Yalçın

Abstract


The preschool is a very important period for developing nutritional habits in adulthood. They start coming to school after acquiring certain nutritional habits. When new preschool children were observed in the feeding environment, it was observed that they avoided eating certain foods. For this reason, it was decided to conduct an action research on students' nutrition habits. The research questions What are children's food choices and eating preferences at the beginning of the semester?” and “How did students' nutrition habits change after the implementation?” were answered. The study is an action research conducted to find a solution to a problem encountered by a teacher in her lessons. The participants of the study consisted of 14 students attending a kindergarten in Amasya city centre. The data were obtained through observation forms prepared for teachers and parents to determine the food preferences of preschool students at the beginning and end of the semester. Students' preference variables for the 54 foods offered to students at the school were determined before and after the intervention. According to the findings obtained from teacher observations and parents' observations, it was concluded that children's preferences for 54 foods were effective in their positive and high-level consumption preferences. The least preferred foods at the beginning of the semester were mostly vegetables (parsley, leek, vegetable soup, green lentils, broccoli, eggplant, cauliflower, spinach). The frequency of consumption preference was high in 46 of the 54 foods offered on the school menu (f=12, f=13, and f=14).

 

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preschool; nutrition; nutrition habits; action research; consumption preferences

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v12i11.6321

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