GARDENING ACTIVITIES AT SCHOOL AND THEIR IMPACT ON CHILDREN'S KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TO THE CONSUMPTION OF GARDEN VEGETABLES

Learning through gardening is known to be an educational strategy in which a garden is used as a teaching tool. Systemic reviews of the impact of school gardening on academic performance and dietary habits foreground the need for additional quantitative studies that would use strong experimental designs. The aim of the present research was to establish the impact of school gardening on children's knowledge of and attitude to the consumption of garden vegetables. A quasi-experiment was conducted including one control and one experimental group, with each group consisting of 15 children aged 6-7 years. The children's prior knowledge and attitude toward the consumption of garden vegetables was identified through individual interviews. Participants in the experimental group then carried out their activities in a school garden that was built in co-operation with an organic farm located in close vicinity of the school. Following these activities, interviews were repeated in both groups to establish any newly acquired knowledge of and changes in the children's attitude to garden vegetables. The results revealed that the children in both groups had poor general knowledge about garden vegetables at the beginning of the experiment. After their work in the garden was concluded, the knowledge of garden vegetables in the experimental group of children improved to a statistically significant degree. The children's attitude to consuming garden vegetables also became more positive than before they engaged in the gardening activities. The results of this research indicated that school gardening activities improved academic outcomes and the children's attitude to the consumption of vegetables. Therefore, the research suggests that gardening should be considered a vital part of school education.