The National School Feeding Program and the Right to Education: A Comparative Analysis of the Actions of School Lunch Providers as Low-Status Street-Level Bureaucrats in the Municipalities of Greater ABC

• Grant number: 26/00157-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2026
• End date: February 29, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Specific topics in Education
• Principal Investigator: Salomão Barros Ximenes
• Grantee: Clara Tavares Pereira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Educação (FE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/10239-2 - Observatory of Educational Policies: regional planning and democratic governance for the quality of education in the Greater ABC region, AP.PP

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how the position occupied by school lunch workers, as street-level bureaucrats, influences their daily actions and the implementation of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) in the municipalities of Greater ABC Paulista. Based on an analysis of the PNAE at the national and local levels, highlighting the importance of school meals for guaranteeing the right to education and problematizing the professional devaluation of these agents in light of the sociology of professions, gender and race inequalities, and the debate on low-status bureaucrats, the work aims to investigate the perceptions, strategies, and criteria that guide the actions of school lunch workers in delivering public policy. Methodologically, this is a qualitative research study, composed of a literature review, document analysis, and fieldwork in municipal schools in Greater ABC, with semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Thus, the purpose of this research is to contribute to the field of public policy and education by highlighting internal inequalities among street-level bureaucrats and the role of frequently invisible agents in the implementation of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) and in guaranteeing the right to education. (AU)