Factors influencing the success of school feeding programs in public primary schools in Dagoretti north constituency Nairobi county, Kenya
Abstract
School feeding programs in Kenya was introduced 1966 with an aim of improving
participation of children in primary schools, in relation to enrolment, retention and academic
performance. Previous studies carried out to determine the factors that influence the
implementation of school feeding programs in Dagoretti North Constituency schools have
yielded mixed results. The study sought to reconcile these conflicting research findings by
assessing whether these factors influence school feeding programs. These factors included;
availability of funds, physical facilities, school management and monitoring and evaluation.
The objective of this study was to find out the factors that influenced the success of school
feeding programs in Dagoretti North Constituency public primary schools as well as suggest
possible interventions and strategies for a better school feeding program. The study was
based on the Classical Theory of Equal Opportunity advanced by John Dewey , which argues
that education systems should be designed with a view of removing barriers of any nature
that hinder children from lower economic backgrounds from taking advantage of talents that
could accelerate social promotion. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design
targeting four primary schools in Dagoretti North District which had the school feeding
program. The target population comprised of 4 Head teachers, 116 teachers and 4550 pupils
of in the four primary schools in Dagoretti North District Nairobi.Using Morgans Table, the
study sample comprised of 345 pupils and 9 teachers. Purposive sampling was used to select
4 Head teachers from the four schools since they were few and yet they were the managers of
the schools who possessed vital information about the school feeding programs in their
schools. The schools were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. The data
was collected using questionnaires for teachers, Head teachers and pupils. Both primary and
secondary data sources were used .Prior to the actual data collection procedure, a pilot study
was conducted in two schools to test the reliability and validity of the instruments. The data
was analyzed using the descriptive statistics (frequency distribution tables. Data was
presented in tables . Recommendations will be made on the factors that influence school
feeding programs.
The data was collected using questionnaires for teachers, Head teachers and pupils. Both
primary and secondary data sources were used .Prior to the actual data collection procedure, a
pilot study was conducted in two schools to test the reliability and validity of the instruments.
The data was analyzed using the descriptive statistics (frequency distribution tables). Data
was presented in tables. Recommendations will be made on the factors that influence school
feeding programs. After the study, it was established that funds, physical facilities, proper
school management and monitoring and evaluation were very paramount for the success of
school feeding program. The researcher made some recommendation that government and
donors should take full responsibility of installing. Running and maintaining the school
feeding programs .Encourage community participation, construct dining halls. It was also
recommended that should be a re-orient of the field monitoring system to include indicators
of the school environment that influence the effectiveness of school feeding programs like
seasonal firewood and water
Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5979]