Continuing education needs of school-level managers in child nutrition programs

The purposes of this study were to determine continuing education needs of school food service managers as perceived by managers, and directors/supervisors and to assess if perceived continuing education needs were related to demographic variables. A national sample of 1,200 managers and 1,200 directors and supervisors were mailed a questionnaire designed to determine managers' perceptions of continuing education needs for 48 job-related areas and directors'/supervisors' perceived needs for the managers that they supervise. Response rates were 42% for managers and 64% for directors and supervisors. Managers rated the following areas as having the highest need for continuing education: state and federal regulations; laws affecting personnel; health and safety laws, inspection, and enforcement; work simplification; employee motivation; transmitting child nutrition mission and values; building professionalism in staff; time management; building teamwork; and employee relations. Mean ratings were higher for directions/supervisors than for managers for all continuing education areas. Perceived continuing education needs were related to the type of food production system used, grade levels in the school, certification status, years of food service experience, years of school food service experience, and education level. Generally, perceived needs for continuing education increased as education level, years of food service work experience, and years of school food service work experience increased. Certified managers had higher ratings for perceived continuing education than did managers who were not certified. Our findings identify areas for planning continuing education programs and may be used many groups including the National Food Service Management Institute, state agencies, school food authorities, colleges and universities, professional associations, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as they plan and provide training and continuing education programs for school food service managers.