Risk: Student, teacher and community perception - CWWhitney/nifam_codas_school_garden GitHub Wiki

When the students have a positive relationship with the garden, it can positively affect their health, nutrition, mental health and academic achievement. Students who are more engaged in the garden are more likely to be engaged in school and the positive interactions increase the overall education effectiveness, especially for children who struggle to learn in a traditional classroom setting (4). The more involved children are with the garden, the more they tend to feel a sense of connection to the garden and a bond to the school, both of which have a positive influence on their academic achievement (3,5). As the students continue to work with the garden, evidence shows that they build an affinity for nature and an understanding of where fruits and vegetables come from, thus improving their attitudes and behaviors surrounding healthy eating (12).

Strong evidence exists that teachers generally have a very positive view of the benefits of school gardens for students, the school and the community. Unfortunately, there are many barriers and challenges that complicate this perception a bit. The most commonly cited were lack of time, experience and training (13). However, these barriers were perceived only by teachers, and often not cited by school principals or administrators (13). This is likely due to the fact that the teachers are the ones who are often faced with the responsibility of garden labor and curriculum integration on top of their already very busy schedules, and this often without an increase in salary (16-18). There is therefore a chance that if the teacher and school administrator perceptions do not align, the teacher's perception of the garden can become negative and have a negative impact on the education effectiveness.

The support of parent volunteers, school administrators and garden coordinators is shown to have a large impact on improving the teacher's perception of the garden (16). With more time and support, the teacher is not only able to, but often excited and motivated to incorporate the garden into their curriculum, increasing their capacity and, thus, improving the quality of teaching and education effectiveness.

When parents have a positive perception of the garden, they will be more likely to volunteer and participate in the implementation and maintenance of the garden (19). They are also more likely to talk about it, thus increasing awareness and the possibility of recruiting other volunteers.

The greater community (meaning those who are not directly related to the school) is more likely to get involved in the garden if they have a positive perception of it (19). This can result from a personal interest in gardening or science and/or positive experiences with gardening.

v2 Addition: Parent Perception

Parent perception came up multiple times throughout all of the sessions, emphasizing the importance of including within the “perception” variable.

A group of students explained that parents have a lot of power in the success of a school garden: “Parents want to send their child to a school with a garden. They will also decide to make donations, volunteer or tell parents from other schools [about the garden].”

“Both parents’ and community perceptions are very important because they can influence each other. Parents includes outside parents [from other schools], not just our school”

Parents cited that no support from parents will be a barrier to garden success. Teachers mentioned that it’s the parents who come to pick up their kids, and therefore, their perception is more valuable than the community. This was confirmed by a project manager of a past school garden. A school administrator also explained that benefits of the community liking the garden are more based on the parents’ support rather than the community’s.