DOCUMENT RESUME ED 296 785 PS 017 420 AUTHOR Levinger, Beryl TITLE School Feeding Programs in Developing Countries: An Analysis of Actual and Potential Impact. AID Evaluation Special Study No. 30. INSTITUTION Agency fcr International Development (IDCA), Washington, DC. Bureau for Food and Voluntary Assistance. REPORT NO PN-AAL-060 PUB DATE Jan 86 NOTE 125p.; This report was prepared in collaboration with the Horace Mann-Lincoln Institute of Teachers College, Columbia University. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; *Attendance Patterns; Developed Nations; *Developing Nations; Enrollment; *Food; Foreign Countries; Nutrition; Program Design; Program Effectiveness; *Research Design; Research Methodology; Research Needs; *School Activities; School Involvement IDENTIFIERS *Food Distribution Programs ABSTRACT Reviewed are empirical studies of relationships among school feeding programs (SFPs), school attendance, enrollment, cognitive development, and academic performance. Recommendations for SFP design are specified. An agenda for a systematic operations research project on the influence of SFPs on these variabla and on nutritional status is described. A brief introductory section discusses the background and assumptions of the study. Section 2, which focuses on school attendance and enrollment, reviews retrospective analysis, comparative, and noncomparative studies, as well as studies that identify determinants of school attendance and enrollment, and other relevant studies. Section 3 reviews studies on the relationship between diet and cognitive development, and between SFP participation and cognitive development in developing and industrialized countries. Studies on short- and long-term behavioral effects are also covered. Each study is reviewed in terms of its findings and methodology for the purpose of identifying implications for the design of SFPs and for future research. Section 4 identifies approaches that maximize the educational impact of Agency for International Development-supported school feeding programs. Section 5 outlines an operations research project on the impact of SFPs. (RH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. **************************P********************t*********************** , EI 4 9 6 a 't +WV'S, .1A . r SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: AN ANALYSIS OF ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL IMPACT AID EVALUATION SPECIAL STUDY NO. 30 by Beryl Levinger, Ph.D. U.S. Agency for International Development January 1986 This report was prepared in collaboration with the Horace Mann-Lincoln Institute of Teachers College, Columbia University under a contract with the Office of Evaluation, Bureau for Food and Voluntary Aid, the Agency for International Development. The views and interpretations expressed in this report are those of the author and should not be attributed to the Agency for International Development. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments v Summary vii 1. Introduction 1 2. A Review of the Literature: School Attendance and Enrollment 6 2.1 Retrospective Analysis Studies 8 2.2 Comparative Studies 15 2.3 Noncomparative Studies 32 2.4 Determinants of School Attendance and Enrollment Studies 35 2,5 Other Relevant Studies: The United States 38 2.6 Conclusions 40 3. A Review of thel .terature on Cognitive Development and School Achievement 42 3.1 Studies on the Relationship Between Diet and Cognitive Development 43 3.2 Studies on the Relationship Between SFP Partici- pation and Cognitive Development in Developing Countries 57 3.3 Studies on the Relationship Between SFP Partici- pation and Cognitive Development in Industrialized Nations 66 3.3.1 Studies on Short-Term Behavioral Effects..,. 66 3.3.2 Studies on Long-Term Behavioral Effects 71 3.4 Conclusions 76 4. Desigh Implications 78 4.1 Introduction 78 4.2 SFPs and Enhanced Internal Efficiency 79 4.3 SFPs and Enhanced External Efficiency 83 4.4 Conclusions 85 5. Conclusions and Next Steps 86 Bibliography -v- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people helped in the preparation of this study. To thank them all would add considerably to the weight of an already hefty work. However, there are a few individuals whose contributions are so significant that it is impossible to omit mention of them without misrepresenting the origins of this report. The idea for the study originated with Judith Gilmore and Hope Sukin, both of the evaluation office in the Agency for International Development's (AID's) Bureau for Food and Voluntary Assistance. They identified much of the literature that is re- viewed in the body of the text, questioned and probed as needed so that I could sharpen my insights, and were marvelously suppor- tive throughout the project. This study was undertaken in collaboration with the Horace Mann-Lincoln Institute of Teachers College, Columbia University, where I was employed as senior research associate at the time of its writing. A special thank-you is due to Gary Bridge, Director of the Institute, for enabling me to incorporate the project into my other responsibilities at the Institute and for his guidance in analyzing some of the cognitive development and academic achievement issues discussed in the text. Ron Lane typed and edited the manuscript with superb skill, despite the many demands made by other projects at the Institute. Diane Brede, an Insti- tute research associate, rendered invaluable service by preparing the matrices that appear as appendixes to the study and by assembling the bibliography. Three other Teachers College colleagues were also most generous with their time and insights. Ann Boehm and Mary Alice White, members of the Psychology Department, were instrumental in helping me to identify procedures that could be used to detect changes in cognitive functioning that might result from partici- pation in school feeding programs. Joan Gussow, a nutrition educator, helped elucidate the linkages among malnutrition, poverty, and school performance. Last, but not least, are the contributions made by staff members at CARE, Catholic Relief Services, and Checchi and Company. Without their help it would have been impossible for me to gain access to many of the documents so critical tc an adequate review of school feeding programs. While help has come from many sources, the point of view expressed and all recommendations and conclusions are my own. Although this study was produced under a contract with AID's -vi- Bureau of Food and Voluntary Assistance, Office of Evaluati I received full latitude to praise or damn school feeding I programs as the evidence and my inferences would permit. In the end I found neither unfettered praisenor utter damnation ; to be appropriate. The resultant work, therefore, seeksmore to explain and interpret ambiguities than to offera definitive judgment on the program's worth. Beryl Levinger, Ph.D. Assistant Executive Director CARE SUMMARY Three objectives are commonly associated with school feeding programs (SFPs): (1) to increase school enrollment and atten- dance among school-age children; (2) to improve the nutritional status of children in school; and (3) to improve the cognitive or academic performance of these children. This study examines and assesses empirical evidence regarding the hypothesized rela- tionships among SFPs, school attendance, enrollment, cognitive development, and acadeEIC15Tformance. It also uses research findings to derive SFP design recommendations. Finally, the study proposes an agenda for a needed operations research project on how SFPs influence attendance, enrollment, cognitive develop- ment, academic performance, and nutritional status. Four types of studies have been conducted to assess the impact of SFPs on attendance and enrollment: retrospective analyses, comparative studies, noncomparative studies, and studies examining the determinants of school attendance and enrollment. To date, retrospective analyses (of which three are reviewed) have not yielded results in which decision-makers can have confidence. Most fail to use enrollment ratios based on solid demographic data, lack data on contextual variables that might influence school attendance, and do not report longitudinal changes. Because of the inherent weaknesses in this type of study and the inconclusive nature of their findings, they do not lend support for the hypothesized relationships among SFPs, attendance, and enrollment. Six studies are reviewed that examine the impact of SFPs by comparing data on attendance and enrollment between SFP and non- SFP schools. Most were inconclusive. The evidence suggests, however, that SFPs may be most effective in meeting their attend- ance-related objective in settings where attendance is not already high and where children come from rural, relatively low socioeconomic backgrounds. Several of the studies also point to the need for program regularity to achieve an impact on chil- dzen's school-going habits. These findings suggest the impor- tance of targeting practices that take into consideration both need and the probability that program regularity can be maintained. Eight studies covering eleven different countries examine the impact of SFPs on attendance and enrollment using primarily impressionistic data drawn from teachers. Most of these failed to provide control groups. Significantly, seven of the eight noted a positive programmatic impact on attendance and enroll- ment, whereas only one drew mixed