Main Article Content
Abstract
Education, as they say, is the key to success. However, school dropout and low participation have been a concern for some basic schools in Ghana. The aim of the study was to investigate the contribution of the Ghana School Feeding Programme to the progress of beneficial schools in some selected basic schools in the Sefwi Wiawso. The objectives of the study were: to assess how the GSFP motivates parents to enroll their wards in school; to ascertain whether the GSFP addresses socio-economic factors that affect enrolment, attendance, and retention of pupils; to find out how the GSFP contributes to the enrolment of girl child education; and to find out ways to improve upon the GSFP. The pragmatic paradigm was adopted with a mixed-methods research design, where questionnaires and interviews were administered through purposive sampling techniques to select the respondents for the study. The targeted population was 812 teachers, 11419 learners, 20,886 parents, and 140 caterers from 40 beneficiary schools in Sefwi Wiawso Constituency. A sample size of 87 was used for the study. The data obtained with the questionnaire and interview were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and thematic analysis, respectively. The findings depicted that some ways in which the school feeding program motivates parents to enroll their wards in school were: children now focus on learning when in school, and parents can redirect feeding money to other aspects of their children’s lives. In addition, the study revealed that GSFP addresses socio-economic factors that affect enrolment, attendance, and retention of wards in basic schools by reducing school dropout, hunger, and poverty, among others. The findings of the study also revealed that some of the ways in which the GSFP encourages enrolment in girl-child education are by reducing the vulnerability of girls, boosting family income, and limiting the negative consequences of emergencies on health, nutrition, and education. The study recommended that there should be frequent monitoring of the program.
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References
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- Sekaran, R.E.W., & Bougie, P.T.R. (2013). Research methods for business. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons
- Shrestha, R., Schreinemachers, P., Nyangmi, M., Sah, M., Phuong, J., & Manandhar, S. (2020). Behavioural and emotional disorders in children during the COVID – 19 epidemics. The journal of pediatrics.
- Swedish National Agency for Education (SNAE), (2020). Statistik om förskola, skola och vuxenutbildning. Swedish. (Statistics on preschool, school and adult education). Available from: https://www.skolverket.se/skolutveckling/statistik/sok-statistik-om-forskola-skola-och-vuxenutbildning.
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- World Food Programme (1996), Report on pilot school feeding program evaluation, Annual Report. WFP-Rome, March
- World Food Programme, (2004). School Feeding Programs: Why They Should Be Scaled Up Now. Available at: http://www.unep.org/training/programmes/Instructor%20Version/Part 2/Activities/Dimensions of Human WellBeing/Education/Strategies/School Feeding Program.pdf
- Yunusa, I., Gumel, A. M., Adegbusi, K, & Adegbusi, S. (2012). School feeding program in Nigeria: A vehicle for nourishment of pupils. The African Journal, 12: 53-67.
References
Aaker, D. A., Hellard, R. B. & Hashmi, K. (2013). Total quality in construction projects: achieving profitability with customer satisfaction. (10th Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Abotsi, A. K. (2013). Expectations of school feeding programme: Impact on school enrolment, attendance and academic performance in elementary Ghanaian schools. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, Vol. 3(1): 76 - 92
Aurino, E., Tranchant, J., Sekou, D. A., & Gelli, A. (2019). School feeding or general food distribution? Quasi – experimental evidence on the educational impacts of emergency food assistance during conflict in Mali. The Journal of Development Studies, 55 (sup 1), 7 - 28
Black, J.L., Velazquez, C.E., Naseam, A., Chapman, G.E., Carten, S., Edward, J., Shulhan, S., Stephens T., Rojas, A. (2015). Sustainability and public health nutrition at school: Assessing the integration of healthy and environmentally sustainable food initiatives in Vancouver schools. Public Health Nutr. ; 18:2379–2391. doi: 10.1017/S1368980015000531
Braimah, I. and Oduro-Ofori, E. (2005): Basic school dropout in Ghana: a case study of the Amansie West district. Journal Of Science And Technology (Ghana) Vol. 25 (1) 2005: 67-76
Bukari, M., Hajara, I. P. N., & Oloruntoba, A. (2015). School Feeding Program in Ghana: Factors Affecting Academic Performance among Public Primary School Pupils in Garu-Tempane District. International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, 10(2), 632-640
Carlsen, A., & Mantere, S. (2007). Pragmatism. In: International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies (pp. 1298-1301): Sage
Carvalho, F., Dom, B. S, Fiadzigbey, M. M., Filer, S., Kpekpena, I., Lin, C., Lombardi, D., Lopez, L. E., Owusu-Nantwi, V., Ramachandran, A., Tanaka, Y., & Tanabe, S. (2011). Ghana school feeding program: Re-tooling for a sustainable future. Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley (UCB).
Chepkwony, B. C., L. J. Kosgei and B. M. Kariuki. (2013). School feeding program and its impact on academic achievement in ECDE in Roret Division, Bureti District in Kenya. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 4: 407-412.
Creswell JW, Creswell JD (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Chicago. Sage Publications
Da Cunha, W.A., de Freitas, A.F., Salgado, R.J.S.F. (2017). Efeitos dos programas governamentais de aquisição de alimentos para a agricultura familiar em Espera Feliz, MG. Rev. Econ. Sociol. Rural. ; 55:427–444. doi: 10.1590/1234-56781806-94790550301
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (2018). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World: Building Climate Resilience for Food Security and Nutrition. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Ghana News Agency (GNA), (2013). Karaga District faces teething problems of the school feeding programme. Available on line at www.modernghana.com
Korugyendo, P. L. & Benson, T. (2011). Food- for education programmes: Lessons for Uganda. International Food Policy Research Institute Policy. Washington DC: Note No. 13
Kristjansson, B., Petticrew, M., MacDonald, B., Krasevec, J., Janzen, L., Greenhalgh, T., (2007). School feeding for improving the physical and psychosocial health of disadvantaged students. Cochrane Database Syst Rev.1.
Lawson, M. (2012). School Feeding programmes in Developing countries. Impacts on Children’s Health and Education Outcomes. Nutrition Review, 69. 83-98
Maynard, D.d.C., Vidigal, M.D., Farage, P., Zandonadi, R.P., Nakano, E.Y., Botelho, R.B.A. (2020). Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability Indicators Applied to Food Services: A Systematic Review. Sustainability. 12:1804. doi: 10.3390/su12051804.
Mora, C. & Frazier, A. & Longman, R. & Dacks, R. & Walton, M. & Tong, E. & Sanchez, J. & Kaiser, L. & Stender, Y. & Anderson, J.& Ambrosino, C. & Fernandez-Silva, I. & Giuseffi, L. & Giambelluca, T. (2012). The Projected Timing of Climate Departure from Recent Variability, Nature 502,pp183–87
Morgan, K., Sonnino, R. (2007). Empowering consumers: The creative procurement of school meals in Italy and the UK. Int. J. Consum. Stud. 31:19–25. doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2006.00552. x.
Mouton, R. (1996). Establishing the norms of scientific argumentation in classrooms. Science education, 84(3), 287-312
Mugenda, O. M., & Mugenda, A. G. (2003). Research methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Nairobi: African Centre for Technology Studies
Mulwa, F.W. (2008). Demystifying Participatory Community Development. Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa.
Nikolopoulou, K. (2022). What is purposive sampling? | definition & examples. Available at: https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/purposivesampling/#:~:text=Revised%20on%20December%201%2C%202022,on%20purpose%E2%80%9D%20in%20purposive%20sampling.
Nkosaha, C., Luchenbe, M and Chakufyali, P. N. (2013). Journal of International Education in Education. Vol. 15 (3)
Sandler, J. (2011). Reframing the politics of urban feeding in U.S. public Schools: Parents, programs, activists, and the state. In Robert, S.A. & Weaver-Hightower, M. (Eds.). (2011). School food politics: The Complex ecology of hunger and feeding in schools around the world. Washington, D.C.: Peter Lang.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research methods for business. London: Pitman, 124-126.
Sekaran, R.E.W., & Bougie, P.T.R. (2013). Research methods for business. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons
Shrestha, R., Schreinemachers, P., Nyangmi, M., Sah, M., Phuong, J., & Manandhar, S. (2020). Behavioural and emotional disorders in children during the COVID – 19 epidemics. The journal of pediatrics.
Swedish National Agency for Education (SNAE), (2020). Statistik om förskola, skola och vuxenutbildning. Swedish. (Statistics on preschool, school and adult education). Available from: https://www.skolverket.se/skolutveckling/statistik/sok-statistik-om-forskola-skola-och-vuxenutbildning.
United Nations (UN), (1992). Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. In Proceedings of the UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3–14 p. 72
WFP (2017). How School Meals Contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. World Food Programme. Rome, Italy: p. 8.
World Food Programme (1996), Report on pilot school feeding program evaluation, Annual Report. WFP-Rome, March
World Food Programme, (2004). School Feeding Programs: Why They Should Be Scaled Up Now. Available at: http://www.unep.org/training/programmes/Instructor%20Version/Part 2/Activities/Dimensions of Human WellBeing/Education/Strategies/School Feeding Program.pdf
Yunusa, I., Gumel, A. M., Adegbusi, K, & Adegbusi, S. (2012). School feeding program in Nigeria: A vehicle for nourishment of pupils. The African Journal, 12: 53-67.