This study evaluates the school feeding programme at Magog Primary School. It sets out as its objective to find out how the programme operates and its potential impact on school children, including challenges, if any, and recommends solutions to mitigate the challenges. It was motivated by the need to provide information which could be used as a basis to ensure that the nutritional and educational objectives of the National School Nutritional Programme are achieved. A review of literature demonstrated that, within the developmental framework, the point of view of civil society, government and the academia on the school feeding programmes are a valuable strategy to intervene in the nutritional and cognitive development of learners. It also made it evident that there are diverse views as to whether the School Feeding Programme is achieving its intended objectives. The findings of this study suggest that, although the programme has the potential to improve nutrition and health, enrolment, attendance and cognitive development, there are still some challenges and areas that need to be addressed and improved. These challenges arise as a result of lack of effective monitoring and evaluation, geographical location of the schools and other implementation flaws. The consequences are that the objectives of the National School Nutritional Programme are placed at risk. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

This study evaluates the school feeding programme at Magog Primary School. It sets out as its objective to find out how the programme operates and its potential impact on school children, including challenges, if any, and recommends solutions to mitigate the challenges. It was motivated by the need to provide information which could be used as a basis to ensure that the nutritional and educational objectives of the National School Nutritional Programme are achieved. A review of literature demonstrated that, within the developmental framework, the point of view of civil society, government and the academia on the school feeding programmes are a valuable strategy to intervene in the nutritional and cognitive development of learners. It also made it evident that there are diverse views as to whether the School Feeding Programme is achieving its intended objectives. The findings of this study suggest that, although the programme has the potential to improve nutrition and health, enrolment, attendance and cognitive development, there are still some challenges and areas that need to be addressed and improved. These challenges arise as a result of lack of effective monitoring and evaluation, geographical location of the schools and other implementation flaws. The consequences are that the objectives of the National School Nutritional Programme are placed at risk. / Development Studies / M. A. (Development Studies)

Thesis (MNutr (Human Nutrition))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / There is convincing evidence linking school feeding to improved educational outcomes. The Primary School Nutrition Programme (PSNP) was first implemented in 1994 and aimed to improve educational outcomes by alleviating short-term hunger and improving school attendance and punctuality. Responsibility for the programme was transferred from the Department of Health (DoH) to the Department of Education (DoE) in 2004 and the name was changed to the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) at this time. Previous evaluations of the PSNP / NSNP had reported problems associated with foodservice management and general management aspects of the programme. The study was a cross-sectional, observational investigation of foodservice management and general management practices in primary schools running the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. Twenty-three schools were visited to investigate practices at each school relating to compliance with DoE menus and prescribed service time of the meal, the food delivery system and utilities available. The food handling and hygiene training and practices and general management practices linked to the NSNP were investigated. Most of the schools (78%) were using the DoE menus but only half (52%) served the meal at or before 10h00, which is an ongoing problem. Receiving and storage procedures were adequate at most schools. Food quality does not appear to be a problem in the Pietermaritzburg schools. The lack of expiry dates on food packages remains a problem area and should be addressed. Most of the schools had a designated kitchen area but these facilities could be upgraded. Most schools cooked on gas and 35% of schools had no running water in the kitchen. Kitchens should, at least, have hot and cold running water and adequate working space. Most schools reported that they run out of gas during the month. The monthly DoE allocation for gas should be reviewed to ensure schools have enough gas for the whole month. The holding time for cooked food should be kept to a minimum to minimise the risk of food poisoning. Some schools had insufficient plates (26%) and cutlery (35%). Standardised portion sizes were served at 70% of schools and food handlers reported that learners usually finish all the food. Food handlers at 70% of the schools had received training in food safety and hygiene but 26% of these had only received training once. Training was found to be significantly associated with hand washing (p=0.002), clean uniforms (p=0.036) iv and sanitising practices (p=0.035). Training should be provided in short, ongoing sessions. General management aspects of the NSNP remain a problem. Policies and procedures should be drawn up and implemented to provide a minimum standard of operations at schools. Monitoring should be conducted on a regular basis. The NSNP is running reasonably well in Pietermaritzburg. Adhering to prescribed meal times and upgrading kitchen facilities could result in improvements. Food handler training could also be conducted more frequently. General management aspects need to be improved.

DEd (Curriculum Studies) / Department of Curriculum Studies / Although on its introduction the focus of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) was to improve health and nutritional status of South African school children, it was put in place to improve school attendance, curb absenteeism and drop-out by children of school going age as a result of hunger and poverty. It was also meant to improve the learning capacity of children since access to nutritious meals has the potential to improve their concentration levels during instructional discourses, which can enhance the quality of educational outcomes. This study explored the views of education stakeholders on the challenges they encountered in implementing the NSNP in achieving its educational goals at two schools in the Vhembe District in South Africa. Specifically, the study investigated how the NSNP influences school access, attendance and participation at schools that are benefiting from the NSNP in an endeavour to establish strategies for improving the quality of schooling. Abraham Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs was applied to explain how children’s basic needs can be a foundation to their educational needs and aspirations. A case study design involving two schools was adopted for the study and the qualitative research approach was employed. Purposive sampling method was employed to select two secondary school principals, ten secondary school class teachers per school, ten learners who were beneficiaries of the NSNP and ten of their counterparts who were not on NSNP per school, and two circuit NSNP officers. Individual and focus group interviews, documentary study and observations were used to collect data, which were analysed thematically. The findings of the study revealed that: the National School Nutrition Programme is a credible strategy for learners from poor backgrounds to access schooling and reduce their school drop-out; there was no clear difference in academic performance between leaners who participated and those who opted out of the Programme; educators felt overwhelmed by administrative work for the feeding programme, which compromised on their co-responsibilities; there were inadequate workshops to equip service providers of the Programme; food was provided under poor hygiene conditions which made some learners to opt out of the Programme; Programme records had inaccurate information. Based on the main study findings, the study recommended that the programme should continue as the majority of learners were benefiting; the Programme should have its own v administrative personnel; there should be regular staff development workshops on the Programme; schools should erect proper infrastructure for food storage and service; a multi- ministerial team of experts from health, education Programme; and all schools that have the Programme should maintain nutrition gardens for provision of fresh food. Finally, for the effective role-taking by duty-bearers for the Programme, the study concluded by recommending a model called the Increasing Achievement Mode for the National School Nutrition Programme.

Submitted by Alexandre Petrucelli Salgado da Silveira (alepetru@hotmail.com) on 2017-12-09T15:05:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Mestrado INOVAÇÃO E PARTICIPAÇÃO SOCIAL DIGITAL - A EXPERIÊNCIA DO PÁTIO DIGITAL NA EDUCAÇÃO.pdf: 1699601 bytes, checksum: 3a616ed74bf7e5b9ca72eab875a2e27d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Mayara Costa de Sousa (mayara.sousa@fgv.br) on 2017-12-11T18:16:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Mestrado INOVAÇÃO E PARTICIPAÇÃO SOCIAL DIGITAL - A EXPERIÊNCIA DO PÁTIO DIGITAL NA EDUCAÇÃO.pdf: 1699601 bytes, checksum: 3a616ed74bf7e5b9ca72eab875a2e27d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-12T11:31:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Mestrado INOVAÇÃO E PARTICIPAÇÃO SOCIAL DIGITAL - A EXPERIÊNCIA DO PÁTIO DIGITAL NA EDUCAÇÃO.pdf: 1699601 bytes, checksum: 3a616ed74bf7e5b9ca72eab875a2e27d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-16 / Nesse trabalho, pesquisamos a Política de Governo Aberto da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de São Paulo, mais especificamente o Programa Pátio Digital. Problematizamos a participação social digital, o controle social, a voz do cidadão, as inovações presentes e a sua mediação, por meio das TIC, na relação entre a Secretaria de Educação e a sociedade, observando a atuação efetiva desta última nas políticas públicas e na melhoria da qualidade dos serviços públicos. Para isso analisamos uma das iniciativas do Programa Pátio Digital, o aplicativo Prato Aberto – ainda em fase de desenvolvimento –, o qual propõe a atuação da comunidade escolar na fiscalização da política de alimentação escolar (merenda) da Rede Municipal de Ensino. Dessa forma, a fim de avaliarmos o programa e o aplicativo num contexto de complexidade e desafios apresentados pela alimentação escolar no município de São Paulo, colhemos entrevistas de pessoas envolvidas tanto no desenvolvimento do aplicativo quanto na coordenação de instituições envolvidas, observamos eventos promovidos sobre o assunto, e propusemos, a partir daí, recomendações e contribuição crítica ao aperfeiçoamento desses mecanismos. Portanto, nossa pesquisa indica o potencial, os limites e as inovações dessa política na construção de novas formas de participação social e o quanto contribuem na ampliação da democracia. / In this paper we investigate the Open Government Policy of São Paulo’s Municipal Education Secretariat, specifically the Programa Pátio Digital (Digital Courtyard Programme). We discuss digital social participation, social control, the citizen’s voice, the innovations and its mediation, through ICT (Information and Communication Technology), on the relationship between the Education Secretariat and society, observing the effective participation of the latter in public policies and in the improvement of public service quality. To this end, we will analyze one of Patio Digital’s initiatives, the Prato Aberto (Open Plate) app - still in development phase – that invites the school community to participate in inspecting the school nutrition policy (school meals) in the Municipal School Network. In this way, in order to evaluate the programme and the app in the context of complexity and challenges represented by school nutrition in the municipality of São Paulo, we interviewed those involved in the app’s development and in its institutional coordination, observed events to promote the subject, and suggested, as a result, recommendations and critical contributions for the improvement of these mechanisms. Therefore, our research indicates the potential, the limits and the innovations in this policy in building new ways of social participation and how much they contribute to broaden democracy.

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which a School Nutrition Programme can catalyse community-based environmental learning and promote food security in the school and the community. This is an interpretive case study of a junior secondary school in the rural Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The school is located in an area characterised by high levels of poverty and under-nutrition. The school’s food garden, a central focus of this study, contributes to the School Nutrition Programme, which falls under the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). The aim of the NSNP is to alleviate poverty in public schools. This case study was conducted by means of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis and field observations. The data set was analysed, firstly, to ascertain if the School Nutrition Programme functions as a community of practise (Wenger, 1998). Thereafter, the data set was analysed to identify the knowledge related to food security and environmental sustainability that is learned and shared in the School Nutrition Programme, and also how such learning took place. The study found that the School’s Nutrition Programme was indeed operating as a community of practice and that it created a platform for sharing explicit and tacit knowledge and skills related to food security and environmental sustainability. The case study also revealed the contextual and experience-based nature of knowledge related to food cultivation.

Foodborne diseases are a major challenge to school feeding programmes because inadequate food safety knowledge and skills of staff can result in unsafe food handling practices and cross-contamination, thus causing foodborne disease outbreaks. The aim of this study was to investigate the food safety and quality assurance measures of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The research design was cross-sectional quantitative in nature. A total of 300 NSNP food service managers/coordinators and 440 food handlers were selected to participate in the study. Data collection was by means of a selfadministered structured questionnaire and 192 food contact surface swap samples from 32 primary and secondary public schools.The majority of schools offering NSNP meals were located in informal settlements and most were found to lack basic resources such as electricity and potable tap water in their kitchens. 93% of food handlers did not know about Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). The NSNP food service managers in some schools, especially in schools located in rural settlements, were found to have little knowledge or awareness of HACCP. No school was found to have implemented the HACCP, and only a few staff had received food safety training. Inadequate food safety knowledge was worst in schools located in informal settlements due to a lack of training. Up to 60% of food handlers did not know the correct procedure for washing a cutting board after it had been used. In addition, just over 95% of the food handlers did not know how to sanitise utensils and cutting surfaces after cutting up raw meat. The lack of hygiene was confirmed by the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli 015:H7, Salmonella and Shigella species on food contact surfaces. A total of 22 different bacteria genera were identified. It is essential to monitor NSNP kitchen hygiene practice to ensure the minimal contamination of food products and newly recruited food handlers should be trained on food handling practice and principles to ensure the safety of prepared food for school children. / Health Studies / D. Phil. (Consumer Science)