The “Lesson of Taste” (“Leçon de Goût” in French) has been implemented in Japan as “Mikaku no Jugyo” since 2011 to teach children to use all five senses and enjoy the five tastes during meals. However, the educational benefits of the lesson have not been verified scientifically. In 2015, we therefore investigated the effects of the “Lesson of Taste” at an elementary school in Fukuoka, Japan that has conducted the lesson on 4th graders every year since 2012. Among the 4th graders (n＝98), the mode of correct answers in the taste recognition test (5 basic tastes and 3 tasteless samples) was 4 and 8 (perfect score) before and after the lesson, respectively ; the ratio (%) of students scoring >6 correct answers essentially doubled after the lesson. The mode of correct answers among 4th graders (n＝130) at a nearby school that did not offer the “Lesson of Taste” (control) was 4, which significantly differed from those attending the target school. Furthermore, the knowledge and awareness of taste immediately improved among the children after the “Lesson of Taste”. A survey of 5th (n＝99) and 6th grade (n＝114) children at the target school revealed that the “Lesson of Taste” provided an opportunity to develop interest in anticipating, tasting, and eating food. The “Lesson of Taste” improved the sense of taste and positively impacted food awareness and eating behaviors among children.

We implemented a Shokuiku (diet and nutrition education) program that incorporated an international exchange between 29 Japanese (grade 6) and 20 Korean (grade 5) elementary school students. The learning objectives were for Japanese and Korean students to understand their local food and to introduce it in English. The students underwent four Shokuiku classes between a baseline survey and a post-survey, and lunch boxes, snacks, and event menus served as teaching materials. The fourth Shokuiku class comprised an international exchange using a web conference system. We then compared changes in responses to questionnaires from the two surveys and prepared a matrix table for Japanese students to confirm the degree of learning. The matrix table was comprised of the evaluation by the viewpoints of “foreign language activities” classes presented by National Institute for Educational Policy Research. The effect of the program on degree of learning was assessed after all four classes.

The results were as follows :

1) A high degree of learning in terms of interest, motivation, and attitudes towards communication after Shokuiku classes before the international exchange was shown among the Japanese students. The students also understood some differences in awareness of languages and cultures by studying images of both countries’ food during Shokuiku classes on lunch boxes and event menus.

2) Motivation for studying and attitudes towards spreading Japanese food significantly changed after the exchange among Japanese students.

3) The Japanese and Korean students were satisfied by the international exchange; in particular, many Japanese students spoke more English than they expected.

4) Although changes in attitudes among the Korean students towards spreading their local food were statistically unfavorable, their understanding of Japanese food deepened.

Understanding differences between Korea and Japan enhanced understanding of, and increased motivation for, studying Japanese food. Positive attitudes to classes and satisfaction with the international exchange affected attitudes towards spreading information about food from one’s own country.

This study investigates how the place where ceremonial food customs were adopted during the period from infancy to childhood affects the presence or absence of ceremonial food consumption, knowledge, and cooking skills in adulthood. It also attempted to examine how food education related to ceremonial food should be implemented from infancy to childhood.

A total of 630 female college students in a school for dietitian were asked to complete an anonymous self-administered questionnaire.

Upon comparing the participants who adopted ceremonial food customs primarily at home and those who adopted them as part of preschool or school food education during the period from infancy to childhood, no differential effects in terms of place of adoption were detected on the presence or absence of knowledge concerning ceremonial food origins and cooking skills. However, a correlation was found between ceremonial food consumption in adulthood and where such food was consumed during childhood, with students being more likely to consume ceremonial food in the present if they had eaten such food at home when they were children.

The results suggest that dietitians should encourage familiarization of ceremonial food at home in addition to promoting food education that includes offering such food on preschool and school meal menus.

The effectiveness of a dietary education program incorporated in home economics class for fifth graders was evaluated. The program was composed of 5 classes based on the theme “Let’s Learn More About the Merits of Washoku” and an activity where the fifth graders passed on the merits of Washoku to younger students during school lunch time. The process evaluation using worksheets in each lesson showed that the learning objectives were accomplished, and therefore, this dietary education program was considered effective. Furthermore, adding school lunches to the curriculum as active learning materials deepened the students’ understanding towards Washoku. For further investigation, the program content and means of evaluation need to be improved, and we will examine whether it is possible to actualize objectives and content of the dietary area of home economics effectively by enhancing dietary education.

This paper reveals how children improve the correct way of using chopsticks and proper way of setting dishes on trays at an after-school childcare club through photographic evidence.

The preliminary self-evaluation questionnaire survey shows that 80% of the children investigated consider that they are good at using chopsticks, but in fact, those who can handle them properly account for only 25%, indicating a clear gap between the children’s perception and the results obtained through the photographic data. The research also reveals that 65% of the children can set dishes properly on trays. After an intervention, approximately 35% of the children are able to master chopstick use and 90% are able to learn tray setting.

Limited instructions of how to use chopsticks to the group as a whole appear to be less effective. To master these skills, it is necessary for children to practice them repeatedly in addition to receiving individual guidance. On the other hand, tray arrangement can be mastered through visual aids, such as photographs, and only require minimal guidance.