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Growing community : the impact of the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program on the social and learning environment in primary schools

Block, Karen, Gibbs, Lisa, Staiger, Petra K., Gold, Lisa, Johnson, Britt, Macfarlane, Susie, Long, Caroline and Townsend, Mardie 2012, Growing community : the impact of the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program on the social and learning environment in primary schools, Health education and behavior, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 419-432.

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Title Growing community : the impact of the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program on the social and learning environment in primary schools
Author(s) Block, Karen
Gibbs, Lisa
Staiger, Petra K.
Gold, Lisa
Johnson, Britt
Macfarlane, Susie
Long, Caroline
Townsend, Mardie
Journal name Health education and behavior
Volume number 39
Issue number 4
Start page 419
End page 432
Total pages 14
Publisher Sage Publications
Place of publication Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Publication date 2012-08
ISSN 1090-1981
1552-6127
Keyword(s) confidence
education
engagement
evaluation
mixed methods
social connections
Summary This article presents results from a mixed-method evaluation of a structured cooking and gardening program in Australian primary schools, focusing on program impacts on the social and learning environment of the school. In particular, we address the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program objective of providing a pleasurable experience that has a positive impact on student engagement, social connections, and confidence within and beyond the school gates. Primary evidence for the research question came from qualitative data collected from students, parents, teachers, volunteers, school principals, and specialist staff through interviews, focus groups, and participant observations. This was supported by analyses of quantitative data on child quality of life, cooperative behaviors, teacher perceptions of the school environment, and school-level educational outcome and absenteeism data. Results showed that some of the program attributes valued most highly by study participants included increased student engagement and confidence, opportunities for experiential and integrated learning, teamwork, building social skills, and connections and links between schools and their communities. In this analysis, quantitative findings failed to support findings from the primary analysis. Limitations as well as benefits of a mixed-methods approach to evaluation of complex community interventions are discussed.
Notes Article first available online 13th December 2011
Language eng
Field of Research 130299 Curriculum and Pedagogy not elsewhere classified
Socio Economic Objective 930301 Assessment and Evaluation of Curriculum
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Restricted until 2013-08
Copyright notice ©2011, SOPHE
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30042007

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Created: Fri, 03 Feb 2012, 14:34:03 EST by Penny Andrews