Middle School Teachers' and District Superintendents' Perceptions of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Breakfast in the Classroom

Abstract

This research design was a qualitative approach conducted through the lens of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Social Cognitive Theory to understand and describe the perceptions of middle school teachers and district superintendents. Utilizing semi-structured interviews, this research will examine the lived experiences of classroom teachers that currently teach in schools that participate in the Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) program and superintendents who have implemented the BIC program within their districts, in hopes of gaining more insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the BIC program. Audio recordings and transcriptions were used to find the commonalities and recurring themes from the interviewees’ responses. Most of the teacher participants’ lived experiences revealed although they initially saw the program as extra duty and extra work on their part, in the end, it was about fulfilling a need of the children. Witnessing the impact of the program on their students’ academic behaviors and social behaviors gave them a different perspective of the program. The superintendent participants’ lived experiences demonstrated their knowledge, value of the program, and the importance of addressing childhood hunger. Food insecurity continues to plague our nation for low-income families. The impact of food insecurity was brought to the forefront during the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic. Feeding children across our nation took precedents and school districts played a major role in ensuring our nation’s children were fed. Acquiring insight into the value of Breakfast in the Classroom will provide pertinent information that will encourage the federal and state governments to increase their investment funds into the Breakfast in the Classroom program.