Transcript School Feeding

FOOD FOR EDUCATION,
SCHOOL REFORM AND FOOD
SECURITY:
Making the Connections
Beryl Levinger
Education Development Center and
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Coming Attractions: Four Main Ideas
• The universalization of primary school is a prerequisite
for food security
• Food for education boosts primary school participation
and, hence, food security
• The effects of primary school education on food
security are greatest wherever “quality standards” are
met; however, important effects are present even when
educational quality is modest
• Efforts to improve primary education participation
(demand) and efforts to improve primary education
quality (supply) are highly interrelated and mutually
reinforcing; both can be influenced by FFE
A Cycle of Mutual Reinforcement
Food Security
School
Quality
School
Coverage
Food for
Education
Food security=
Access to
Availability of
FOOD
Utilization of
Access= Individuals have cash or in-kind
resources to obtain enough food to meet dietary
and nutritional requirements
SCHOOLING
Attitudes &
Knowledge Related
to Consumption
Choices
***
Includes Factors
Related to Diet,
Nutrition, Value,
Calculation of
Purchase Cost/
Unit
Access= Individuals have cash or in-kind
resources to obtain enough food to meet dietary
and nutritional requirements
SCHOOLING
Knowledge,
Skills & Attitudes
Favorable to Wage
Sector Employment
& Enhanced
Livelihood
Through
Informal Sector
Channels
***
$ to buy food
Access= Individuals have cash or in-kind
resources to obtain enough food to meet dietary
and nutritional requirements
SCHOOLING
Attitudes
Favorable to Child
Spacing
***
Includes Linkage
Between Family’s
Decision to Have
Children & Ability to
Provide for Them
Access= Individuals have cash or in-kind
resources to obtain enough food to meet dietary
and nutritional requirements
SCHOOLING
Attitudes &
Knowledge
Conducive
to
Breast Feeding
&
Growth
Monitoring
Schooling Influences Food Availability
SCHOOLING
Attitudes &
Skills Related to
Food
Production
Partnering/
Cooperating with
Others to Increase
Food
Production
Schooling Influences Utilization
(making proper biological use of food)
Proper Sanitation
Practices
Proper Child Care
Food for Education Influences
Schooling SUPPLY and DEMAND
Food Security
School
Coverage
Supply Side
Factors
Demand Side
Factors
Food for
Education
Persistent Education SUPPLY Challenges
• Rationing of places due to low school plant absorptive
capacity
• Irrelevant or inappropriate curriculum
• Tuition or fees charged
• High teacher absenteeism
• Insufficient attention to meeting the special needs of
girls or other special needs groups
• Schools are too far from children’s homes
• School calendar or schedule is inappropriate to local
production or cultural norms
• Minimal linkages between school and community
Food for Education Can Boost Supply
Use food to help community
improve facilities
Use food to improve teacher
attendance
Use food to pay teachers to
attend training
Use food to help community
build closer facilities
Use food to promote
community
involvement
Use food to build girl-friendly
infrastructure
Use food to help pay
teacher aides
Use food to offset
opportunity costs of
school attendance
Persistent Education DEMAND Challenges
Parents or children feel that…
• Costs of school attendance are too high
• Too little learning takes place
• Students are likely to fail
• Schooling is culturally inappropriate
• Nothing “useful” is taught in school
• School facility does not meet girls’ needs
Food for Education Can Boost DEMAND
Use food to help
offset costs of school
attendance
Use food to create
opportunities for
parental involvement
Use food to improve
children’s active
learning capacity (ALC)
Use food to build links
between school and home
Use food as a
resource to enhance
classroom learning
10 Education Reform Building Blocks
Learner Quality
Place
Teacher
Pedagogy
Time
Community
Involvement
Management
Finances
Curriculum
Sectoral Links
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#1: Change Learner Quality
•
Provide school lunches or snacks to alleviate shortterm hunger
•
Provide snacks that address micronutrient
deficiencies associated with cognitive function
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#2: Change
•
•
Place
Improve water and sanitation with food aid incentives
Build facilities closer to students with food aid
incentives
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#3: Change
Time
•
Lengthen the school day and provide snacks to
maintain attention
•
Lengthen the school year and provide food to offset
opportunity costs of attendance, especially for girls
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#4: Change
Teacher
•
Offer food incentives for community members to
provide teacher housing
•
Provide food to supplement teacher salaries or as a
bonus for high performance
•
Provide food to parent aides
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#5: Change Community
Involvement
•
Involve community members in the organization and
management of school lunch or snack programs
•
Use community involvement in school feeding as an
entry point for building a richer set of schoolcommunity links
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#6: Change
Curriculum
•
Use food aid to help pay for training teachers to work
with the new curriculum
•
Use food preparation as an opportunity to develop
skills in food handling, storage, nutrition, sanitation
and consumption choices
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#7: Change
Pedagogy
•
Introduce snacks to reduce short-term cognitive
deficits that will impede satisfactory progress with a
more challenging curriculum
•
Integrate food preparation activities with other
elements of the curriculum including math, science,
social studies and art
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#8: Change Management
•
Use school feeding program to build awareness of
what goes on at school
•
Use school feeding program to create PTAs that
eventually have the capacity to insist on
accountability for results
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#9: Change
Finances
•
Montetize a portion of donated commodities
•
Use proceeds to invest in quality
Food for Education and the 10
Education Reform Building Blocks
#10: Create Sectoral Links
•
Contract with local food producers to stimulate
demand for locally grown fruits and vegetables
•
Make connections to health sector through
deworming and vitamin A supplementation
•
Work with agricultural extensionists to develop school
gardens
Contextualizing: 4 Scenarios
CASE #1
Demand
Quality
LOW
LOW
Use food as an
incentive to
attract more
students and to
improve
children's active
learning capacity
CASE #3
HIGH
HIGH
Consider scaling
back or phasing
out of feeding
activity
Demand
LOW
Quality
CASE #2
HIGH
Use food to attract
out-of-school
children and to
retain those in
school
HIGH
LOW
Use food to
improve active
learning capacity,
community
involvement and
teacher skills
CASE #4
Conclusion
THE END