Free Nutritious Meal Program at SMPN 10 Bekasi: A Phenomenological Study of Teacher and Parent Perceptions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59944/postaxial.v4i3.1819Keywords:
Free Nutritious Meal Program, Parent Partnership, Phenomenological Study, Teacher Perceptions, Urban Education PolicyAbstract
The Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Program is a strategic national policy aimed at improving students’ health, nutritional status, and learning readiness. This study aims to analyze in depth the concrete lived experiences and subjective meanings of teachers and students’ parents regarding the implementation of the MBG Program at SMPN 10 Bekasi City. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, with George Edward III’s Policy Implementation Theory, Joyce Epstein’s School-Family Partnership Theory, and Husserlian and Heideggerian phenomenological frameworks as analytical lenses, data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document study involving five teachers and eight parents. The study revealed two main phenomenological findings. First, among teachers, there was ambivalence between improved student learning readiness and academic energy and an increase in non-academic workload, or the domestication of teachers’ duties, such as food distribution management and classroom cleanliness. Second, among parents, there was a dual perception between gratitude for household economic savings and existential concern regarding hygiene control, menu variety, and picky-eater behavior. A major structural obstacle was the compression of break time, which distorted effective instructional time. The study recommends establishing a dedicated logistics team, restructuring the daily schedule, and digitizing nutritional transparency to strengthen school-parent synergy.
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