
Challenges and Opportunities of Utilising School Nutrition Programme to Achieve Educational Goals in South African Rural Communities
Issue: Vol.5 No.5 Issue Article 14 pp.751-767
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245514 | Published online 21st May, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This study explored the challenges and opportunities faced by schools in utilising the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) to achieve educational goals in South Africa. The NSNP was established in post-apartheid South Africa as a poverty alleviation and educational democratisation measure to improve educational access, attendance, and participation outcomes of learners from poor socio-economic backgrounds. The thesis of this paper was informed by Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs to explain how food is a basic need for learners to ascend to the level of learning aspirations. The study adopted a phenomenological paradigm and a qualitative research approach. Purposive sampling was employed to select 2 secondary school principals, 8 teachers responsible for NSNP and 10 learners who were beneficiaries of the NSNP within a rural community setting. The study used face-to-face and focus group interviews and observations for data collection. Data was analysed and interpreted thematically. The study revealed that challenges such as poor hygienic conditions, poor quality and poor nutrition value of the menu, and consumption of teaching and learning time compromised the quality of NSNP provision in schools. However, despite these challenges, schools in rural communities use the NSNP for school attendance.
Keywords: National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), South Africa, Educational Goals, Maslow’s Theory, Socio-economic Development
Adelman, Sarah, Harold Alderman, Daniel O Gilligan, and Kim Lehrer. “The Impact of Alternative Food for Education Programs on Learning Achievement and Cognitive Development in Northern Uganda.” Unpublished Manuscript, 2008.
Alderman, Harold, and Donald Bundy. “School Feeding Programs and Development: Are We Framing the Question Correctly?” The World Bank Research Observer 27, no. 2 (2012): 204–21.
Belot, M., and J. James. Healthy School Meals and Educational Outcomes. Oxford: . University of Oxford Press, 2009.
Cresswell, J.W. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. London: Sage, 2013.
Creswell, J.W. Research Design. 3rd ed. United States of America: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2009.
Crowl, T.K., S. Kaminsky, and D.M. Podell. Educational Psychology: Windows on Teaching. New York: Brown and Benchmark Publishers, 1997.
Dembo, M.N. Applying Educational Psychology. New York: Longman, 1994.
Department of Basic Education. Action Plan to 2014 towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education, 2011.
———. Annual Performance Plan 2013-2014. Republic of South Africa: Department of Basic Education, 2013.
———. National School Nutrition Programme Annual Report 2009/2010. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education, 2010.
Department of Education. The Guideline for Management of National School Nutrition Programme. Polokwane: Limpopo Department of Education, 2013.
———. Strategic Plan 2007-2011. Pretoria: Department of Education, n.d. www.education.gov.za.
Edstrom, J. Lucas, H. Sabates-Wheeler, and B. Simwaka. A Study of the Outcomes of Take Home Ration: Food Rations for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Malawi. Nairobi: UNICEF ESARO, 2008.
Grantham-McGregor, Sally M, Susan Chang, and Susan P Walker. “Evaluation of School Feeding Programs: Some Jamaican Examples.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67, no. 4 (1998): 785S-789S.
Grantham-McGregor, Sally, and Deanna K Olney. “School Feeding, Cognition, and School Achievement.” Current Medical Literature: Clinical Nutrition 15, no. 1 (2006).
Hall, K, and G Wright. “A Profile of Children Living in South Africa in 2008.” Studies in Economics and Econometrics 34, no. 3 (2010): 45–68.
Jacoby, Enrique, Santiago Cueto, and Ernesto Pollitt. “Benefits of a School Breakfast Programme among Andean Children in Huaraz, Peru.” Food and Nutrition Bulletin 17, no. 1 (1996): 1–11.
Jerome, N. “Application of the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory; Impacts and Implications on Organizational Culture.” Human Resources and Employee’s Performance, 2013.
Kallaway, Peter. “Policy Challenges for Education in the New South Africa: The Case for School Feeding in the Context of Social and Economic Reconstruction.” Transformation, no. 31 (1996).
Langsford, C. Enough on Our Plate. The National School Nutrition Programme in the Two Schools in Katlehong. Pretoria: Van Schaik, 2012.
Maree, K. First Steps in Research. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers, 2012.
Organization, World Health. The World Health Report: 2004: Changing History. World Health Organization, 2004.
Parsons, R.D., S.L. Hinson, and D.A. Brown. Educational Psychology: A Practitioner Research Model of Teaching. USA: Wardsworth Thomson Learning, 2001.
Pollitt, Ernesto. “Does Breakfast Make a Difference in School?” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 95, no. 10 (1995): 1134–39.
Punch, K.F. Introduction to Research Methods in Education. London: Sage Publications, Inc., 2009.
Rehle, Thomas M, Timothy B Hallett, Olive Shisana, Victoria Pillay-van Wyk, Khangelani Zuma, Henri Carrara, and Sean Jooste. “A Decline in New HIV Infections in South Africa: Estimating HIV Incidence from Three National HIV Surveys in 2002, 2005 and 2008.” PloS One 5, no. 6 (2010): e11094.
Republic of South Africa. “The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa .” Government Gazette (No. 17678), 1996.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). The Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996). Pretoria: Government Printers, 1996. https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/images/a108-96.pdf.
Symons, Cynthia Wolford, Bethann Cinelli, Tammy C James, and Patti Groff. “Bridging Student Health Risks and Academic Achievement through Comprehensive School Health Programs.” Journal of School Health 67, no. 6 (1997): 220–27.
Tomlinson, Mark. “School Feeding in East and Southern Africa: Improving Food Sovereignty or Photo Opportunity.” Equity Discuss Paper N, 2007, 46.
Wagner, C., B. Kawulich, and M. Garner. Doing Social Research: A Global Context. United Kingdom: McGraw-Hill Higher Education Companies, Inc., 2012.
Welman, C., F Kruger, and B. Mitchell. Research Methodology. South Africa: Oxford University Press, 2005.
World Food Programme. “State of School Feeding Worldwide, Overview,” 2013. https://executiveboard.wfp.org/document_download/WFP-0000037816.
Writter, S.M. “ National School Nutrition Programme Continues in Limpopo.” Mail and Guardian, 2014.
Mbulaheni Paul Tshisikhawe is a Senior Lecturer, holds a Doctor of Education degree in Curriculum Studies from the University of Venda, and a Post graduate diploma from the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. He researches and supervises postgraduate studies on school capacity building on learning and teaching, curriculum issues in education as well as on the impact of school service provision on learner outcomes.
Tawanda Runhare is a Professor and Director of the School of Education at the University of Venda, South Africa. He holds a PhD in education from University of Pretoria, South Africa. He researches and supervises students on issues that influence educational access, participation, and outcomes. His latest book publication is entitled “Sociological Foundations of Education in Africa” by Oxford University Press Southern Africa, in 2021.
Ndanganeni Florence Litshani is an Associate Professor of Educational Management, in the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education, at the University of Venda, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Her research focuses on educational and school leadership and management, the law in education, and curriculum management, as well as supervising postgraduate students in these areas.
Tshisikhawe, Mbulaheni Paul, Tawanda Runhare & Ndanganeni Florence Litshani. “Challenges and Opportunities of Utilising School Nutrition Programme to Achieve Educational Goals in South African Rural Communities,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.5 (2024): 751-767. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245514
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Others