Literacy & School Feeding in Sri Lanka

• In Event: Hungry Minds: Evaluation of School Feeding and Literacy Interventions

Proposal

While Sri Lanka has made commendable progress toward universal enrollment in primary school, there is wide variation in students’ academic outcomes. Nutrition and sanitation challenges—also varying throughout the country—may constitute added obstacles to children attending and staying in school. Children in Sri Lanka who are stunted and wasted have below-average test scores, and many Sri Lankan children also lack vital micronutrients such as iron and Vitamin A. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities in Sri Lankan primary schools also remain a challenge: 17 percent of schools do not have drinking water facilities, and only half have adequate sanitation infrastructure.
In response to such challenges in Sri Lankan primary schools, Save the Children launched the Promoting Autonomy for Literacy and Attentiveness through Market Alliances (PALAM/A) project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition. PALAM/A aims to improve the literacy skills of students and increase the use of health and dietary practices in 820 schools across seven educationally disadvantaged districts of Sri Lanka.
This paper presents the methodology and results from the baseline performance evaluation of PALAM/A. The aim of which is to establish reference values and measure the status of performance indicators, and to ensure that annual target values are applicable and realistic to measure project outcomes. Leveraging a mixed-method design, we triangulate survey and student assessment data with qualitative interviews to provide contextual information to understand the current conditions within PALAM/A schools and communities and to develop appropriate annual and life of project targets.
AIR proportionally selected a representative sample of schools from each of the seven project districts. With 84 schools as our total sample size, we used a two-stage proportional to size cluster sampling. In the first stage, we selected schools using the proportion of PALAM/A schools in each of the seven project districts (Badulla, Kilinochchi, Monaragala, Mulaitivu, Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, and Trincomalee). We also factored in the proportion of schools in each district receiving the intensive literacy programming and proportionally sampled such that our final sample included the same proportion of literacy-focused schools as in the total project. In the second stage, we selected students to be surveyed within each selected school.
The quantitative approach enabled us to collect information on key performance indicators related to students’ literacy and attentiveness as well as teaching practices. AIR complemented the quantitative data with interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and potential for sustainability of the program at baseline. Qualitative data enabled us to better understand stakeholders’ perception of the program, their expectations for improved outcomes, and any other relevant contextual information.

Authors

• Hannah Ring, American Institutes for Research

• Adria Molotsky, American Institutes for Research

• Pooja Nakamura, American Institutes for Research