1. 3 Cognitive Ability and Breakfast:Collaborating with Parents to Promote Balanced Breakfasts Tanisha Hanley ED 702.22 Fall 2009

2. 4 Table of Contents  Statement of the Problem p.3  Review of Related Literature p.4  Statement of the Hypothesis p. 10

3. 5 Statement of the Problem In 2006-2007 less than half of low income children whom the School Breakfast Program (SBP) is geared toward participated. It is considered underused in some schools which creates challenges for state funding. The rate of skipping breakfast in children and adolescents is on the rise. Students who do receive breakfast at home may not be receiving a nutritionally balanced breakfast as provided in schools by the American School Food Service Association. Many parents are unaware that balanced breakfast consumption provided at home or at school may provide benefits toward cognitive function and academic achievement.

4. 6 Review of Related Literature-Pros Supporting Effects on the Brain Breakfast is the most important meal of the day (Matthews & Pollitt, 1998). In a study assessing the effects of skipping breakfast on problem solving ability in well nourished boys, Matthews and Pollitt (1998) reported that the boys did worse in late morning tests of problem solving abilities when they had skipped breakfast than when they had consumed it.

5. 7 Review of Related Literature-Pros of Parental Involvement Breakfast skipping is a global educational and public health concern (Cheng, T., Griffiths, S., Tse, L., & Yu, I., 2008). Parental engagement in student’s learning at home makes the greatest difference to achievement (Goodall & Harris, 2008).

6. 8 Review of Related Literature- Current Practices The 2008 SNA Back To School Nutrition Trends Report explains that many schools use March which is National Nutrition Month as a time to implement educational strategies on making healthy food choices. The US Department of Agriculture’s SBP operates in 84,000 schools and in 2006 provided free and reduced- price breakfast to 9.7 million children (Rampersaud, 2008). The USDA has continuously increased funding throughout the years for nutrition education programs (Gregoire, Martin & Sneed, 1993).

7. 9 Review of Related Literature-Cons of the Research The various ways that breakfast and breakfast consumption frequency are defined pose a challenge for studies. Another problem is how the breakfast eating occasion is defined. Breakfast skipping may be defined qualitatively (Taras, 2005). Breakfast consumption has been associated with enhanced cognitive ability in some but not all short term clinical studies and longer term school based studies (Rampersaud, 2008). There is a lack of research that identifies effective methods to promote breakfast consumption in various populations (Rampersaud, 2008).

8. 10 Review of Related Literature-Cons of the Effects Particular macronutrient compositions of a meal may be more relevant to cognitive function than the meal itself (Matthews & Pollitt, 1998). In long term studies the effects on cognitive function are limited to “at risk” undernourished children (Melanson, 2008; Bro, R., McLaughin, T., Shank, L., & Williams, R., 1996 ).

9. 11 Collaborating with parents to help children make “balanced breakfast” choices Piaget’s Cognitive Adaptation Theory-Children have to construct their own knowledge and eventual understandings. Each child constructs his or her own meaning by connecting and combining prior information with new information so that this new knowledge provides personal meaning to the child (Dobey et al., 2004). Bandura’s Social Learning Theory-Children can learn behaviors rapidly and efficiently by observing other people who model the behaviors (Berndt, 1997). Ex: Children make healthy food choices by watching their parents make them.

10. 12 Statement of the Hypothesis HR1: Integrating parental involvement in balanced breakfast consumption will increase scores on a problem solving math quiz for 29 5 th grade students at P.S. X.

11. 13 So what does it look like?

12. 14 References Berndt, Thomas. (1997) Child Development (2 nd ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Brown & Benchmark. Bhattacharya, J., Currie, J., & Haider, S. (2006). Breakfast of champions? The school breakfast program and the nutrition of children and families. Journal of Human Resources, 41(3), 445-466. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from ERIC database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ746513). Bro, R., McLaughlin, T., Shank, L., & Williams, R. (1996). Effects of a breakfast program on on-task behaviors of vocational high school students. The Journal of Educational Research, 90(2), 111- 115. Retrieved September 19, 2009, from JSTOR database. Cheng, T., Griffiths, S., Tse, L., & Yu, I. (2008). Children's perceptions of parental attitude affecting breakfast skipping in primary sixth-grade students. Journal of School Health, 78(4), 203-208. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from Eric database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ811899). Dobey, D & Beichner, R. (2004). Essentials of Elementary Science. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Goodall, J., & Harris, A. (2008). Do parents know they matter? Engaging all parents in learning. Educational Research, 50(3), 277-289. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from ERIC database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ809128). Gregoire, M., Martin, J., & Sneed, J. (1993). School foodservice: A look to the future. Hospitality Research Journal, 17(1), 175-191. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from SAGE database. Matthews, R., & Pollitt, E. (1998). Breakfast and cognition: An integrative summary [Electronic Version]. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67, 804S-13S. Melanson, K. (2008). Back to school nutrition. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 2, 397-401. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from SAGE database. Rampersaud, G. (2008). Benefits of breakfast for children and adolescents: Update and Recommendations for Practitioners. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 3(86), 86-103. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from SAGE database. SNA releases back to school nutrition trends report: Results show what schools are doing to increase healthy options for kids. (2008). School Nutrition Association, 48(2). Retrieved September 14, 2009, from the ERIC database. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ815361). Taras, H. (2005). Nutrition and student performance. Journal of the School Health, 75(6), 199-213. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from ERIC database.. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ725323).