KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF
PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN EGBE,
KWARA STATE, NIGERIA
BY
DR. O .O. OYERINDE,
DR. S. O. OWOJAIYE
UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN KINETICS AND
HEALTH EDUCATION
&
G E T S O BAYERO UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL AND HEALTH
EDUCATION, KANO.
ABSTRACT
This paper presented a research report on the school feeding for
teaching as a predicate of nutritional knowledge acquisition at primary
school level 281 (two hundred and eighty-one) pupils and 137 (one
hundred and thirty-seven) teachers participated in the study. Two
structured questionnaires NUMI and NHKT with ten items and four
questions respectively were administered. The results of the analysis of
data by percentages and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient
indicated that, pupils in sub-urban area who passed nutritional health
knowledge test would have done so accidentally due to friends, parents, and
mass media influence rather than their teachers teaching them with
nutritional materials in schools. It was recommended that health education
teachers should promote and advocate school feeding for provision in
schools for teaching and acquisition of nutritional knowledge among
others.
INTRODUCTION
Nigerians consider strength accumulation as being associated with
heavy diet nutritional needs according to an average Blackman therefore is
intrinsically based on the consumption of the popular heavy staple foods.
This notion may be considered to be in place considering occupational
demand on them (most Africans are farmers requiring application and
expedition of muscle power on the farms). Plugging the farm, heap making,
or staking the yams or tending the nursery plants or weeding the grass
demand muscle power. Apart from the farm work, several peasants are
truck pushers or load carries who must develop huge muscular power to
accomplish these tasks. In Nigeria, mechanics, panel beaters, foresters or
plank sawyers have to carryout their duties requiring power. Considering
these tasks consumption of proteinous foods may be out of place. Any
worker of the above named category would rather wish that his/her
stomach is filled with food. The sensation of the fullness of the stomach
injects the euphoria of energy into the average worker.
In another development, women and children and children suffer
nutritional inadequacy. Culturally women and children eat only after the
men would have been served. The juiciest part of the food. They are
served the choice beef parts while the women and children eat beef, eggs
and cheese only if available. This is because men are accorded high place
and respect due to their headship of the family, as the bread winners and
the
controller
of
family
affairs
(Gopalan
1981
&
www.
Colmubianmissourian.com2008). The nutrient insufficiency in women had
also been viewed to be responsible for birth of underweight children are
plagued with several disabilities. Some of these nutritional problems are:
Speech malformation; hearing disability and nutritional deficiency
diseases. Also, fainting of pregnant women during child birth and
lactation period had been traced to insufficient nutrient consumption
(Jelliffee 1981). Pereze, hrom, Vega Lopez, Bermidez and Segura
(2008). These catastrophes are results of inadequate nutritional
knowledge of the populace passed from one generation to another.
It is also observed that absence of balanced diet during pregnancy
accounts for 40%-60% of all deaths among women aged 15-34yeasr due
to confirmed hemorrhage (uncontrolled bleeding) and pulmonary
embolism (blood clots in the lungs) coupled with inadequate spacing
between birth of children and their weaning aggravated by insufficient of
replenishing nutritive ingredients and local food custom (Gopalan, 1981 and
Kanfman, 2003). When women's bodies do not have time to replenish
and store vital nutrients, still births and increased maternal mortality
and maternal and child fatality rate are imperative (Chen, Geshe,
Ahmed, Choudhury and Mosley 1981 and Kanfman 2003). In another
submission for the dangers in herewith in lack of nutrient knowledge of
their value, Owojaiye (2000) advanced that:
"Consumption of heavy carbohydrates
is most often not" accompanied with
fish, meat or snail; except perhaps with
"iru" (locus bean) or mahogany seeds,
vegetables, palm-oil, salt and water. This
further compound the imbalance of Nigeria
local diet".
Armstrong, (1973) and Canter, (2007) are strong in their believes that
if the seasonal foods, (maize, guinea corn, yam, cocoyam) are taken with
adequate protein, good water source and variety of vitamins, deficiency
diseases like mumps, brachial cysts, pellagra, beri-beri, kwasiokwor,
burning feet, xerophthalmia and pernicious aneamia will be less prevalent
among primary school children. With blackman's focus on carbohydrate as
the main-source of food, the diet answer may be far fetched because
certain taboos are placed on some nutritional benefits that the pupils would
have achieved for instance, consumption of eggs by children is attached
with stealing. Pupils with sore/wounds are forbidden to beef and poultry
foods because there would be pus; eating of pork and dog meat are also
forbidden for religious reasons. Laoye, (1966) and the FME/UMCEF (2007)
recommends that the knowledge of nutritional status and nutrient materials
would go a long way to disabuse the minds of pupils would be
revolutionized through nutrition education
and the school feeding
programme (Laoye, 1966). Teachers are charged with the responsibility of
teaching nutrition from a balanced diet perspective while schools are
enjoined to promote the national school feeding programme viz-a-viz (i)
showing classes of food (ii) emphasizing the food value (iii) showing different
sources (iv) Providing are adequate meal at mid-day periods. In line with
Waiter, Frank and Turner (1989) food tree; and Ripple (2008) feed pyramid
while teachers are to use concrete items locate to the environment.
Introduction of the classes of food in table 1 above to pupils in the
primary schools, would advance their knowledge of balanced diet. Pupils
would begin to change their mono-dietary preference of carbohydrate. Also
teachers' sensitization of the pupils on the values of balanced diet will
predicate their knowledge of dietary requirements for proper growth. The
teachers' utility of nutritional teaching materials and opportunities created by
the school feeding to teach in schools using real objects or pictorials
(charts, drawing, pictures) will enhance pupils experimental tendencies.
The submission of Minker (1986) showed that the effect of
teaching nutritional awareness through concrete food items and
practicals is effective, Minker presented food items and cooked them, some
without adequate food nutrient and the other with adequate food nutrient;
he demonstrated eating and deprivation from eating. Afterwards,
Minker (1986) recorded 90% of pupils responding favourably to questions
raised on the issue taught. Minker observed that pupils were used to
eating mono-diet and hunger; so kwasiokor was easily linked to hunger,
inadequate and improper diet consumption. Thereafter Minkers' pupils could
realized that the issue of kwasiokor is not hunger; and they were prepared
to forego their dietary feeding habits. Pupils were given the opportunity to
taste the two different foods; one palatable and the other not palatable.
The objectives of this study are therefore to ascertain Teachers
readiness to respond to the school feeding programme as a predicate for
improving Nutritional knowledge of primary school children. To find out if
nutritional materials are provided and available in the schools and thirdly to
examine the effect of the school feeding programme on the
performance of pupils in a nutritional knowledge test.
MATERIAL AND METHOD
The Survey Research Method Was Utilized
Two hundred and eight-one (281) pupils and one hundred and thirtyseven (137) teachers participated in the study. Pupils were picked from
primary six (6) and primary six (6) teachers from eight (8) primary schools
in Kwara State as the subject. For availability of nutritional materials
survey; Health Education Material Inventory was used; and for the
knowledge of pupils in nutrition, health knowledge test was used. The
Nutritional Health Material Inventor (NHMI) contain ten (10) items and the
Nutritional Health knowledge test (NHMI) contain four (4) questions. The
teachers filled the NHMI and the pupils answered the NHKT. The main
hypothesis drawn therefore was that availability of school feeding and
nutritional materials are being utilized by the teachers to teach and
assist pupils to achieve high grades in the Nutritional Health Knowledge
test. Analysis of the data was done at the University of florin computer
centre. To find out the statistical relationship between provision of school
feeding and the pupils' scores in nutritional knowledge. Pearson Product
Moment Correlation coefficient was computed while frequency count and
mean was used to show the availability of nutritional materials and school
feeding in the eight primary schools sampled.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The result were based on data collected from teachers' and pupils
responses to NHMI and NHKT were analyzed as follows:
Table 2 shows teachers' responses to availability of nutritional
materials (i.e. posters or pictures) in the eight (8) primary schools in
frequency counts and percentages.
TABLE 2: TEACHERS RESPONSES TO AVALIABILJTY OF
TEACHING AND TITLE MATERIAL
S/NO
NO OF SCHOOLS
NO OF TEACHER
Inventory (HEMI)
1.
Do you have posters/pictures
showing yarns, rice cassava
(carbohydrate) in your class?
2
Do you have poster/picture showing
meat eggs, fish (protein) In your class?
3.
Do you have poster/picture showing
palm oil ground nut oil (fat & oil) in your
class?
4.
Do you have table salt/common salt
(mineral salt and organs, mangoes,
cashew (vitamins) in your class?
5.
Do you have well water in your school
or class?
6.
Do you have tap water in school or
class?
7.
Do you have borehole water in your
school?
8.
Do you have spring water in your
school?
9.
Do you have poster/picture showing
bones in your class?
10. Do you have poster/picture showing
muscles, circulatory system in your
school?
1
50
2
40
84.0
(21)
40.0
(6)
PUPILS' SCORES
3
4
5
6
21
31
33
28
RESPONSES
33.3 43.7 50.0 47.1
(10) (8)
(8)
(7)
84.0
(21)
64.0
(16)
40.0
(6)
26.7
(4)
38.0
(7)
16.7
(3)
12.5
(2)
6.1
(1)
60.0
(12)
70.0
(14)
20.
(51)
6.7
d)
16.7
(3)
6.1
(1)
64.
(16)
76.0
(19)
0.0
(0)
4.0
(1)
32.0
(8)
48.0
(12)
33.3 61.1
(5)
(11)
60.0 0.0
(9) (0)
5.5
0.0
H)
(0)
0.0
16.7
(0)
(3)
13.5 16.7
(2)
(3)
26.7 11.1
(2)
(4)
25.0
(4)
0.0
(0)
o.o
(0)
12.5
(2)
12.5
(2)
25.0
(4)
7
40
8
28
83.3
(10)
55.5
(10)
47.1
(11)
47.1
(8)
66.7
(8)
58.3
(7)
55.5
(10)
28.0
(5)
15.0
(3)
0.0
(0)
16.6
(2)
77.6
(4)
0.0
(0)
0.0
(0)
20.0
(4)
0.0
(0)
10.0
(2)_
5.0
(1)
17.7
(3)
17.,
(3)
5.9
(D
11.7
(2)
52.9
0.1 16,7
(8)
(8)
25.0 22,2
(4)_
(3)
22.2
16.6 (4)
(2)
r
257rj 23.5
(6)
(3)
50.0 55.5
(10)
(6)
41.7 22.2
(4)
(5)
(9)
47.1
(8)
N=137
In the analysis above (table II), 84% responses were recorded in
school one (1) for carbohydrates and protein. This infers that only school one
(1) has required amount. However, other schools had these materials:
protein, carbohydrate, fat & oil, table salt and tap water though not in the
required proportion. The availability of these nutritional materials should
have been authenticated by each school's by 100% responses. The
fewness of these nutritional materials therefore is envisaged to affect
nutritional health knowledge achievement. This discovery negates Minker
(1986's) assertion that nutritional teaching materials should be made
available. It could be deducted therefore that teachers' inability to provide
nutritional materials even concrete items; in abundantly blessed agrarian
area like Nigeria is tantamount to negligence of duty, laziness or lack
of improvisational teaching resources sourcing technique. Yarns, Beans,
cassava, Rice, meat of all sorts are available in Nigeria. Provision of
specimen would enhance teaching.
Table 3 shows the number of passed scores of pupils in
Nutritional Health knowledge test per school in frequency counts
and in percentages.
TABLE 3: PUPILS SCORES IN NUTRITIONAL HEALTH
KNOWLEDGE TEST
S/NO
NO OF SCHOOLS
NO OF PUPILS
Knowledge questions (NHKT)
1
2
3.
4.
1
50
The following are classes of food
70.0
except: (a) vitamin (b) carbohydrate
(35)
(c) Food corps (d) Protein, ANS=C
74,0
is food that
contains all nutrients necessary for
(37)
health: (a) balance diet (b) good diet
(c) fair diet (d) all diet. ANS.=A
Children need plenty of fruit as a source ; 58,0
of (a) vitamin K, (b) vitamin A, I (c) vitamin (29)
C (d) vitamin D. ANS=C
48.0
Scurvy is due to efficiency in: (a) starch
(24)
(b) protein (c) vitamin C (d) fat. ANS.=C
N=281
90.0
(36)
PUPILS' SCORES
3
4
5
6
7
21
31
33
28
40
RESPONSES
52.4 151.6 42.4 13.4 100
(40)
(11) (16) (14) (5)
90.0
(36)
94.3
(19)
2
40
83.3
(26)
54.0
(18)
67.8 97.5
(15) (39)
____
_
17.8 75.0
(5)
(30)
90.3 48.4
(28) (16)
25.0 30.0
(7)
(12)
36.3
(13)
U
37.0
(15)
33.3 93.3
(29)
(7)
7.5
(3)
14.1
(4)
In above analysis of data reveals in school 2, 90.0% of the pupils
passed the test in recognition of classes of food. Also 90.0% of the pupils
8
28
65.4
(24)
71.1
(27)
52.6
20)
18.4
(7)
in school 7 are aware of the value of protein. Further still school 7, 100% of
the pupils (all the pupils) are conversant with classes of food. 97.5% of
them or (39) are aware of the term balanced diet but only 30.09% or (12)
pupils were aware of the value of vitamin C. if school 7's pupils had
achieved so low marks that only 30% of them passed despite the nonavailability of vitamin materials, what then is the relationship between
availability of nutritional materials and pupils scores? Had availability of
nutritional materials predicated pupils' high 100 scores? Again, the low
results predicated by non-availability of nutritional materials refuted
Minker's (1986 and supports Jelliffee's (1981) whereby provision of
nutritional teaching aids had been accredited to elicit 100% efficiency in
nutritional health knowledge. And whereas children whose diets are
imbalanced are prone to several nutritional catastrophe. The conceived
local nutritional practice had been found to be significantly related to
nutritional problems.
Table IV shows Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficier' of
availability of nutritional Education teaching materials and p scores in
Nutritional Health Knowledge Test.
TABLE 4 CORRELATION OF NETM & NHKT
Variable
Case Mean
Std.Dev. Cal.r.v.
Psco psco
281
24.6177
8.7169
-
Psco psco
281
12.9715
2.4927
.0228
Cri.r.v.
I
.195
Hypo.
Rejected
In table IV above the PPMCC's analysis, the calculated value is lower than
the critical value (table value) therefore, the assumption that availability of
nutritional materials aided nutritional knowledge achievement is
rejected at alpha level 0.05 of significance and 280 degree of freedom. It
is succinctly clear therefore that the non availability or availability of
nutritional teaching materials had not enhanced good grades in Nutritional
Health Knowledge. Therefore pupils must have gained their nutritional
health attitudes from friends and not necessarily from the knowledge the
teachers passed. Whereas, the purpose of schooling as perceived by
parents i.e. that the formal academic knowledge should positively
influence their wards. And now the school has failed. The teachers'
utmost duty is to utilize their teaching aids (either by construction or
collection or sourcing for) and application of same to enhance student idea
conception for changed behaviour.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings, it could be concluded that several schools do
not have nutritional teaching materials to enhance nutritional health
knowledge achievement. And that the pupils who passed the test did so
accidentally; through friends and/or other means. The schools whose
pupils passed despite their ability in provide nutritional health materials
would have borrowed from other schools who had.
Based on these assertions, it could be recommend that tf .jhers
should endeavour to:
1.
Ensure that concrete food items are collected and dried and stored
at nutritional class is conducted,
2.
Endeavour to ask pupils to bring nutritional items from home
whenever nutritional class is conducted.
3.
Liaise with the teachers of agriculture for provision of those foods
items.
4.
Visit the abattoir for collection of 1st class animal protein specimen.
5.
Encourages the ministry of agriculture to create nutritional items
specimen centres in schools in the Federation.
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