The Effect of School Gardens on Children's Interpersonal Relationships and Attitudes Toward School

Abstract

<jats:p>Children's gardens are receiving increased attention from communities and schools. Educators recognize that gardens provide beauty, produce and education, and serve as an outlet in which gardeners may gain personal benefits. The objectives of this research study were to evaluate whether children participating in garden activities benefited by an improvement in interpersonal relationships and attitudes toward school. No significant differences were found between pre- and posttests and the control and experimental group comparisons. However, demographic comparisons offered interesting insight into trends in the data. Female students had significantly more positive attitudes towards school at the conclusion of the garden program compared to males. The results also showed that there were differences in interpersonal relationships between children depending on grade level in school. In addition, childrens' attitudes toward school were more positive in schools that offered more intensive individualized gardening.</jats:p>

The Seeds of Learning: Young Children Develop Important Skills Through Their Gardening Activities at a Midwestern Early Education Program

“…Existing research describes the benefits of garden-based activities for elementary age chil- Table 1 Key Benefits of Positive Experiences with the Natural World • increased concern for the environment (Palmer, 1993) • increased sense of wonder and imagination (Cobb, 1977;Wilson, 1997) • improved ability to concentrate (children with ADD) (Taylor et al, 2001) • increased powers of observation and creativity (Crain, 2001) • increased motivation for life-long learning (Wilson, 1997) • improved awareness, reasoning, and observational skills (Pyle, 2002) • improved personal skills including confidence, social skills, self-efficacy (Dillon, et al 2005) • reduced stress/greater ability to deal with adversity (Wells & Evans, 2003) • increased language and collaborative skills (Moore & Wong, 1997) • increased development of senses (Louv, 2005) • increased knowledge and understanding of geographical, ecological or food production process (Dillon et al, 2005) • increased analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, and integration of math, science, language arts, social sciences, and other subjects (Bartosh et al, 2006) • increased interest in healthy foods/eating fruits/vegetables (Cavaliere, 1987;Lineberger, 1999;Pothukuchi, 2004) • improved physical well-being through better quality play and increased motivation to exercise and eat more healthily (Rickinson, et al, 2004) • increased physical and mental well-being, ability to identify and work toward personal goals (children with behavioral problems or attention issues) (Thrive, 2006) • increased positive attitudes about environmental issues (Waliczek & Zajicek, 1999) • increased scores on environmental attitude surveys (elementary children) (Skelly & Zajicek, 1998) • improved numeracy and literacy skills and knowledge of the environment (Thrive, 2006) • increased interpersonal relationships and positive attitudes about school with garden-based programming (Waliczek et al, 2001) • increased awareness of nature's beauty and power (Heffernan, 1994) • increased scores on science achievement scores (compared to students without garden-based learning activities) …”

Transformative Approaches to Sustainable Development at Universities

“…Juvenile offenders who enjoy gardening show improved self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and attitudes towards school (Cammack et al 2002;Flagler 1995;Waliczek et al 2001). Furthermore, gardening has long been recognized as having a healing power which means having a positive influence on mental health and wellbeing (Bell and Dyment 2008;Ulrich 1999).…”

Methodology for the evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program

“…Evaluations of school garden programs have examined their impact on nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable habits, preferences and intake [18][19][20][21] and capacity to improve performance in maths and science. [22][23][24] Others have assessed effects on children's attitudes towards the school environment, 25,26 interpersonal relationships and self esteem, 21,27 as well as environmental attitudes. 28,29 Evaluation tools have included 24-h food-recall books, 13,15 student and/or parent surveys, 8,19,20 child interviews, 30 vegetable taste testing 20 and lunchroom observation.…”