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Determinants of Successful School Feeding Programmes in Public and Private Early Childhood Development and Education Centres in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Educational Psychology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I1-1720177
Abstract
School feeding programmes have become a principal instrument for improving children’s nutrition and educational participation, yet their success varies considerably between institutions, and comparative evidence from Early Childhood Development and Education centres is scarce. This paper reports the first objective of a larger study and assesses the determinants of successful school feeding programmes in public and private Early Childhood Development and Education centres in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya. A comparative descriptive survey design was adopted. From a target population of 215 centres, 65 centres were selected by stratified and simple random sampling, and data were collected from teachers by questionnaire, from headteachers by semi-structured interview, from parents through focus group discussions and from centres through an observation checklist. Of 130 questionnaires administered, 104 were returned, giving a response rate of 80.0 percent; 59 of 65 headteachers were interviewed, giving 90.8 percent; six focus group discussions involving 60 parents were completed; and observation checklists were completed at all 65 centres. The questionnaire returned modest and internally varied assessments, with only regularity of meal provision reaching agreement at a mean of 3.46, while consistency of food supply, adequacy of storage and preparation facilities, community support and adequacy of funding all clustered near the neutral point, the lowest being funding adequacy at 2.80. Observation established that feeding programmes were operational at 96.97 percent of public and 87.50 percent of private centres, with public centres better provided in storage, kitchens and utensils and private centres marginally better in clean water. Interview and focus group evidence converged independently on government support, parental involvement and effective school management as the principal determinants. The study concludes that basic infrastructure is largely in place while the financial foundation is not, and that funding adequacy is the binding constraint on programme success.
Keywords
Early Childhood Development and Education, Funding sustainability, Programme management, School feeding programmes, Stakeholder participation.
How to cite this paper
@article{1720177,
author = {Faith Vusevwa, Leonida Makila, Christine Nabwire},
title = {Determinants of Successful School Feeding Programmes in Public and Private Early Childhood Development and Education Centres in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {1},
pages = {3266-3274},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1720177.pdf},
abstract = {School feeding programmes have become a principal instrument for improving children’s nutrition and educational participation, yet their success varies considerably between institutions, and comparative evidence from Early Childhood Development and Education centres is scarce. This paper reports the first objective of a larger study and assesses the determinants of successful school feeding programmes in public and private Early Childhood Development and Education centres in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya. A comparative descriptive survey design was adopted. From a target population of 215 centres, 65 centres were selected by stratified and simple random sampling, and data were collected from teachers by questionnaire, from headteachers by semi-structured interview, from parents through focus group discussions and from centres through an observation checklist. Of 130 questionnaires administered, 104 were returned, giving a response rate of 80.0 percent; 59 of 65 headteachers were interviewed, giving 90.8 percent; six focus group discussions involving 60 parents were completed; and observation checklists were completed at all 65 centres. The questionnaire returned modest and internally varied assessments, with only regularity of meal provision reaching agreement at a mean of 3.46, while consistency of food supply, adequacy of storage and preparation facilities, community support and adequacy of funding all clustered near the neutral point, the lowest being funding adequacy at 2.80. Observation established that feeding programmes were operational at 96.97 percent of public and 87.50 percent of private centres, with public centres better provided in storage, kitchens and utensils and private centres marginally better in clean water. Interview and focus group evidence converged independently on government support, parental involvement and effective school management as the principal determinants. The study concludes that basic infrastructure is largely in place while the financial foundation is not, and that funding adequacy is the binding constraint on programme success.},
keywords = {Early Childhood Development and Education, Funding sustainability, Programme management, School feeding programmes, Stakeholder participation.},
month = {July},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I1-1720177}
}