Teacher Perceptions and Preferences for 5 School Breakfast Program Models

Abstract

Objective: Identify differences in teacher perceptions of benefits, challenges, and preferences to different School Breakfast Program (SBP) service models.

Design: A cross-sectional study design was used and an electronic survey was distributed to teachers throughout the state of Utah.

Setting: Kindergarten through 12th-grade schools throughout Utah.

Participants: A convenience sample of 369 kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in Utah.

Variables measured: Demographics, benefits and challenges, and teacher preference for SBP models in Utah.

Analysis: Frequencies and multiple comparison analysis tests were performed. A level of significance of <.001 was chosen to protect for multiple comparisons.

Results: Traditional breakfast was the most preferred model, with a mean score of 2.8; Breakfast in the Classroom was the least preferred model by teachers, with a mean of -1.3 (scale used = -5 to 0 to 5). Children not going hungry was the greatest benefit (95.4%; n = 352) to SBP and food waste was the greatest challenge (45.8%; n = 168).

Conclusions and implications: Teachers prefer traditional SBP model over BIC and other nontraditional models. Increased awareness and education regarding benefits and challenges of SBP models may increase teacher preference for nontraditional SBP models, especially BIC.

Keywords: Breakfast in the Classroom; School Breakfast Program; children; teachers.