A research project submitted to the WITS School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education by combination of coursework and research Johannesburg, 2016 / In an attempt to promote inclusive education, many schools have put strategies in place to ensure that all children access and participate in learning. An inclusive strategy is defined as a practice or something that people do to give meaning to the concept of inclusion (Florian, 2011). Inclusive strategies therefore are about practices that give all children equal opportunities to participate in quality learning by ensuring that barriers to learning and participation are removed. Hunger has been identified as one of the barriers to learning, especially in developing countries (Potterton & Dawjee, 2004) and many schools have introduced school feeding programmes as a strategy to promote education for all children. In this qualitative study, grounded in the interpretive paradigm, the views of principals and teachers are explored to establish how school feeding programmes operate or fail to operate as inclusive strategies in schools. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, the study revealed that although school feeding programmes were viewed as mechanisms that operate as inclusive strategies, there were multiple concerns pertaining to the programmes. The principals’ and teachers’ views revealed that while their school feeding programme promoted the academic and general success of all learners, it also inhibited the academic and general success of some children by promoting the stigmatization of children from low-socio economic backgrounds. The study also revealed major concerns in the administration of the school feeding programmes. With reference to the participants’ views on school feeding programmes, it can be contended that while school feeding programmes serve as inclusive strategies for all children in schools, they also have multiple constraints that could to be addressed as an attempt to improve their effectiveness.

A matched case-control study was carried out to identify the factors associated with the nutritional status of children in Livingstone district, Zambia. A trained field researcher collected data on demographic, feeding practices and socio-economic factors in matched groups of underweight children and normal weight children from the mothers/caregivers of the children. Interviews, using a structured pre-tested questionnaire, were used to obtain the data. All children aged from six to fifty-nine months admitted at Livingstone General Hospital during the months of October to December, 2003 with a weight for age below &ndash / 2SD from the median of the reference population formed the underweight children (cases). The total was 47 children. The cases were then matched according to sex and age to 47 normal weight children attending the under five clinic at Livingstone General Hospital during the same months, with a weight for age above &ndash / 2SD from the median of the reference population (controls). The final sample was 94 children. Weights were recorded using the same scale in the outpatient&rsquo / s department prior to admission and during the under five clinic session. Interviews then took place in a separate room after the clinic nurse had attended them. A separate visit was then made to the homes of the children on a different day. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to measure strengths of associations. Results revealed that the basic causes of underweight were the poor economic state of the country, unfavorable policies and insufficient government support in the areas of health, education, agriculture, housing and employment. Underlying causes were inadequate access to food, inadequate care of children, poor access to health services and unhealthy living environments, while immediate causes were poor food intake and disease. Low educational and literacy levels of the mothers/caregivers, unemployment and lack of sufficient finances to access basic necessities such as food, housing and health contributed to underweight.

A matched case-control study was carried out to identify the factors associated with the nutritional status of children in Livingstone district, Zambia. A trained field researcher collected data on demographic, feeding practices and socio-economic factors in matched groups of underweight children and normal weight children from the mothers/caregivers of the children. Interviews, using a structured pre-tested questionnaire, were used to obtain the data. All children aged from six to fifty-nine months admitted at Livingstone General Hospital during the months of October to December, 2003 with a weight for age below &ndash / 2SD from the median of the reference population formed the underweight children (cases). The total was 47 children. The cases were then matched according to sex and age to 47 normal weight children attending the under five clinic at Livingstone General Hospital during the same months, with a weight for age above &ndash / 2SD from the median of the reference population (controls). The final sample was 94 children. Weights were recorded using the same scale in the outpatient&rsquo / s department prior to admission and during the under five clinic session. Interviews then took place in a separate room after the clinic nurse had attended them. A separate visit was then made to the homes of the children on a different day. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to measure strengths of associations. Results revealed that the basic causes of underweight were the poor economic state of the country, unfavorable policies and insufficient government support in the areas of health, education, agriculture, housing and employment. Underlying causes were inadequate access to food, inadequate care of children, poor access to health services and unhealthy living environments, while immediate causes were poor food intake and disease. Low educational and literacy levels of the mothers/caregivers, unemployment and lack of sufficient finances to access basic necessities such as food, housing and health contributed to underweight.

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Forms in pocket. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1966 L755 / Master of Science

The self-efficacy construct has been determined to be an effective method of stimulating desired eating behavior in diabetics and obese adults and exercise behaviors in pulmonary rehabilitation patients. Although the self-efficacy construct has been shown to mediate eating habits, practical classroom application of the construct has been rarely used in this area. A review of literature indicated that no studies have been reported on the effect of self-efficacy on food-related behaviors of children. The primary purpose of this research was to determine if, and to what extent, self-efficacy predicts changes in food choices of fifth-grade children. The effect of self-perceptions of competence on the nutrition knowledge of children after a nutrition education intervention program was also assessed. Forty-five fifth-grade children in two classrooms participated in this study. Their self-perception profile, food choices, nutrition knowledge, and food acceptance were measured both before and after the nutrition education unit. A 25 item nutrition knowledge questionnaire was also administered to the children before and after the nutrition education program. Change in knowledge in the cognitive domain was measured by differences in scores on the nutrition knowledge pretest and posttest. Students kept five-day food records for the school lunch items consumed. The fruit and vegetable intakes of the students were estimated from these food records. Chi-square analyses were performed on the data to determine the relationship between self-efficacy as the independent variable and change in food choices, and food acceptance and change in nutrition knowledge as the dependent variables. The 3 x 3 contingency tables indicated that there were no significant relationships between selfefficacy and change in food choices, food acceptance and nutrition knowledge. The findings provide limited support for the usefulness of the self-efficacy construct in understanding and predicting eating behavior change. It is recommended that further investigations of the predictive capability of the self-efficacy expectancy be conducted in children of this age group to better understand its relationship with food choices and implications for nutrition education for school children. / Graduation date: 1994

This thesis examines the protein content of nursery school lunches and "second" servings when a multi-purpose food is used as a substitute or as a supplement.

Thesis--PlanA (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.