A Comparative Analysis of Promotion Systems for Taste Education in Japan, France, and Italy

Suggestions for Japan's Shokuiku (Food Education)

抄録

In this study health promotion theories were employed to analyze systems for promoting taste education (one of the food pedagogies common to Japan, France, and Italy) with a view to making recommendations for the improvement of the institutionalization of Japan's Shokuiku (food education) initiative. Each country's promotion system was examined, with a special focus on its pedagogies; its political/institutional positioning in primary school education; the organizational structures of promoter institutions; and effective strategies within communities, institutions, and public policies. The methodology included a literature review of related articles, interviews with the leaders of key organizations, and observations of organizational activities (e.g., classes and training programs). The major findings relate to (1) enabling a pedagogical classification of several taste education variants; (2) articulating the similarities and differences of the legal status of taste education within the educational systems of each country; (3) identifying effective strategies for promoter organizations at two different levels (central and regional); and (4) unmasking the critical roles of previously hidden actors such as “intermediary” organizations (for example, French and Italian inter-professional organizations) in effectively promoting food education. All of these findings inform suggestions for effectively orientating Japan's contemporary Shokuiku initiative.