Do Middle Schoolers' Experiences in a Garden-Based Education Program Predict Changes in Their Learning, Motivation, and Achievement in Science?

• In Event: Critical Conversations: Social Justice Practices for Overcoming Psychological Barriers in K–12 Settings

Abstract

This study examined whether middle schoolers’ experiences in a garden-based science education program, designed to be meaningful to youth from low socioeconomic, ethnic and racial minority backgrounds, predicted improvements in students’ engagement, learning, and achievement in science over the school year. Information from 312 highly-diverse sixth- and seventh-grade students about whether their experiences in the garden program led them to feel competent, autonomous, and related was collected at the beginning and end of the school year. Consistent with self-determination theory, students’ garden experiences predicted changes in their corresponding experiences in science class, and their engagement in science, which, in turn, predicted changes in science grades. Discussion focuses on the potential for garden-based education to motivate underrepresented students to pursue science.

Authors

• Heather Anne Brule, Portland State University

• Dilafruz R. Williams, Portland State University

• Julia Dancis, Portland State Univeristy

• Sybil Kelley, Portland State University

• Ellen Skinner, Portland State University