School Gardening: What is Current Trend about?

Abstract

There is plenty of research on school gardening practices reflecting the positive effects of garden-based learning on the development of elementary school students, which are mainly based on short-term gardening program implementation and assessment. However, theoretical research of school gardening is still not shaped well, as the distribution of research activities is unequal and the concept itself is still considered being innovative. A review of scientific literature and documents has been done to define what the school gardening concept really means and what are the spatial and functional domains of it. The review has touched on historical aspects of the school gardening movement’s rise at the beginning of the 20th century in the U.S., as the country considered being at the frontiers of the current trend. Differences in defining school gardening priorities were identified, pointing out the variety of functional domains of school gardening activities developed during the century. Currently, school gardening is characterized by its role in improving students’ learning and achievements, environmental attitudes, health and food behaviours, intrapersonal skills and emotional wellbeing, and social bonds. Also, as the term “school gardening” itself refers to a specific place-based setting, its spatial domain was inspected and redefined according to the variety of current garden-based learning practices. The review allowed to define school gardening as a school-run and community-supported tool for student engagement with school curriculum, civic activism, healthy lifestyle, and development of intrapersonal and social skills through experiential, experimental, transdisciplinary, collaborative, and self-directed learning.

The order of garden-based learning from science education to STEM education

“…When the results of school garden practices between 2000 and 2015 were examined, Urey (2018) stated that it had a positive effect on the development of academic performance, the development of healthy living skills, and the development of individual and social skills. In the current literature, school gardening is characterized by its role in improving students' learning and achievement, environmental attitudes, health and food behaviors, internal skills and emotional well-being, and social bonds (Lavrinoviča, 2021). Theoretical research on school gardening is still not well formed, as the distribution of research activities is uneven and the concept itself is still seen as innovative (Lavrinoviča, 2021).…”

“…In the current literature, school gardening is characterized by its role in improving students' learning and achievement, environmental attitudes, health and food behaviors, internal skills and emotional well-being, and social bonds (Lavrinoviča, 2021). Theoretical research on school gardening is still not well formed, as the distribution of research activities is uneven and the concept itself is still seen as innovative (Lavrinoviča, 2021).…”

“…School-based breeding grounds support students' participation in STEM learning through authentic agricultural pursuits (Ingram & Keshwani, 2021). Hands-on, experiential, inquiry and project-based gardening activities to learn several themes at once (physical activities, literature, art, history, information and communication technologies (ICT) practice, citizenship education, entrepreneurship, economics, history, culture and even career guidance) available (Lavrinoviča, 2021). Bae et al (2021) added culture and art, language and literature to the disciplines of science and mathematics in the garden-based learning program they developed for the Ecuadorian Sierra Region.…”

“…With a collection of garden-based lesson plans and activities, they have made a number of recommendations for schools wishing to implement garden-based learning. For example, planting vegetables may include (Lavrinoviča, 2021): "planting, maintenance and harvesting (horticulture) activities (biology, cleaning, and chemistry), knowledge of soil and irrigation (geography, physics), planting beds (mathematics, physics, and economics), decorating the school area (design and art), garden projects, copywriting, and marketing for the school website (ICT and literature), fundraising (entrepreneurship), planning tools and materials (entrepreneurship/management), distribute tasks and share different roles (career planning), cooking and sharing with parents (community building, cleaning, and chemistry), waste management and circular economy knowledge (geography and biology), doing physical exercises outdoors (sports), and of species and localities (history and geography)." Ingram and Keshwani (2021) conducted a survey of Nebraska schools to characterize existing school-based cultivation areas and identify challenges limiting garden-based STEM learning.…”

“…Leading educational thinkers such as Comenius, Dewey, Montessori, Pestalozzi, and Rosseau described and suggested garden-based teaching in their studies (Desmond et al, 2004). The beginning of the 20 th century in the USA saw the rise of the school gardening movement (Lavrinoviča, 2021). School gardens and gardenbased learning have gained popularity again in recent years (Cramer & Ball, 2019).…”