Evaluating the School Feeding Program's Contribution to Students' Learning in Primary Schools of the Sidama Region, Ethiopia

Academic Paper from the year 2023 in the subject Pedagogy - School System, Educational and School Politics, Hawassa University (College of Education), language: English, abstract: The school feeding program is a social safety net instrument that targets children in chronically food insecure areas, protects them against the worst consequences of household food insecurity, and contributes to better learning and educational outcomes as well as better nutrition. However, there is limited information on the intervention's impact on children's nutritional status and school attendance. This study aims to evaluate the school feeding program's contribution to students' learning in primary schools in Sidama Region, Ethiopia, in order to recommend the scalability of the program. The study was conducted based on representative data collected from 177 participants drawn from the region. A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted on students, school teachers, principals, community representatives, supervisors, and Woreda education office heads. Data was analyzed depending on the nature of the response, both quantitative and qualitative, using a descriptive approach.