Possible Effects of a Free School Meal on School Environment: The School Meal Intervention in Norway

Evidence suggests that a free school meal can improve children and adolescent diet, social environment, concentration, and school performance. This study aimed to investigate possible effects of a free, healthy school meal among students that usually eat packed meals on behavioral issues, inactivene...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the International Society for Teacher Education Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 8 - 20
Main Authors Illøkken, Kristine E, Øverby, Nina Cecilie, Johannessen, Berit, Vik, Frøydis Nordgård
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published International Society for Teacher Education 09.07.2021
Subjects
Classroom Environment
Dietetics
Elementary School Students
Foreign Countries
Gender Differences
Grade 6
Intervention
Lunch Programs
Nutrition
Preadolescents
Program Effectiveness
Public Schools
Self Efficacy
Socioeconomic Status
Student Attitudes
Student Behavior
Norway
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Evidence suggests that a free school meal can improve children and adolescent diet, social environment, concentration, and school performance. This study aimed to investigate possible effects of a free, healthy school meal among students that usually eat packed meals on behavioral issues, inactiveness, self-efficacy, school enjoyment and classroom environment. A school meal according to the dietary guidelines was served to students in the intervention group (n=55) for one year. A control group consumed packed meals as usual (n=109). Students (10-12 years) responded to a questionnaire at baseline and after one year. We used linear regression analyses and did not find significant effects of a free school meal on behavioral issues (B= 0.01, p 0.86), inactiveness (B= -0.05, p 0.51), self - efficacy (B= -0.04, p 0.52), school enjoyment (B= 0.11, p 0.19) or classroom environment (B= -0.07, p 0.26). Methodological limitations might explain our lack of findings.
ISSN:1029-5968
DOI:10.26522/jiste.v25i1.3660