Linking Farm and School: a Theoretical Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12795/IE.2023.i106.01Keywords:
teacher education, teaching methodologies, learning outcomes, outdoor learning, primary school, farmAbstract
This literature review stems from the need to investigate the assumption that farms are learning environments whose value is further enhanced when teaching-learning activities are co-designed by teachers and farmers. The literature was intended to theoretically support the rationale for the DEMETER project, which aims to develop an interdisciplinary teaching methodology and identify strategies and tools to assess farm-based learning outcomes (in terms of both disciplinary and cross-curricular competencies). We reviewed existing research that tested tools and gathered evidence regarding the project's focuses: farm-school partnerships, outdoor learning outcomes, and teaching strategies for outdoor learning contexts. The reviewed studies were selected based on the reliability of their contents and the rigor with which the authors formulated the research questions and analysed the empirical data. Overall, despite the popularity of many forms of outdoor learning, scholars converge on the need for greater scrutiny of the effectiveness and reliability of the teaching methodologies deployed.
Downloads
References
Affolter, C., & Varga, A. (Eds.) (2018). Environment and School Initiatives: Lessons from the ENSI Network-Past, Present and Future. Environment and School Initiatives-ENSI.
Allen, P., & Guthman, J. (2006). From “old school” to “farm-to-school”: Neoliberalization from the ground up. Agriculture and Human Values, 23(4), 401-415.
Anderson, D., Lawson, B., & Mayer-Smith, J. (2006). Investigating the impact of a practicum experience in an aquarium on pre-service teachers. Teaching Education, 17(4), 341-353.
Angelotti, M., Perrazzone, A., Tonon, M.D., & Bertolino, F. (2019). Educating the educators: Primary teacher education. In D Gray, L Colucci-Gray, E Camino (Eds.), Science, society and sustainability: Education and empowerment for an uncertain world (pp. 154-187). Routledge.
Ardoin, N. M., Bowers, A. W., Roth, N. W., & Holthuis, N. (2018). Environmental education and K-12 student outcomes: A review and analysis of research. Journal of Environmental Education, 49(1), 1-17.
Avalos, B. (2011). Teacher professional development in teaching and teacher education over ten years. Teaching and teacher education, 27(1), 10-20.
Ballantyne, R., & Packer, J. (2009). Introducing a fifth pedagogy: experience-based strategies for facilitating learning in natural environments. Environmental Education Research, 15(2), 243–262.
Berezowitz, C. K., Bontrager Yoder, A. B., & Schoeller, D. A. (2015). School Gardens Enhance Academic Performance and Dietary Outcomes in Children. Journal of School Health, 85(8), 508–517.
Blair, D. (2009). The child in the garden: An evaluative review of the benefits of school gardening. Journal of Environmental Education, 40(2), 15–38.
Botkins, E. R., & Roe, B. E. (2018). Understanding participation in farm to school programs: Results integrating school and supply-side factors. Food Policy, 74, 126–137.
Bowker, R. (2002). Evaluating Teaching and Learning Strategies at the Eden Project. Evaluation and Research in Education, 16(3), 123–135.
Ceppi, G., & Zini, M. (2011). Bambini, spazi, relazioni. Reggio Children.
Davis, J. M., & Elliott, S. (Eds.) (2014). Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International perspectives and provocations. Routledge.
Desgagné, S. (1997). Le concept de recherche collaborative: l’idée d’un rapprochement entre chercheurs universitaires et praticiens enseignants. Revue des sciences de l'éducation, 23(2), 371-393.
Dhanapal, S., Cheng, C., & Lim, Y. (2013). A comparative study of the impacts and students’ perceptions of indoor and outdoor learning in the science classroom. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 14(2), 1-23.
Dillon, J., Rickinson, M., Sanders, D., Teamey, K., & Benefield, P. (2003). Improving the understanding of food, farming and land management amongst school-age children: A literature review. National Foundation for Educational Research and King’s College.
Fägerstam, E. (2014). High school teachers’ experience of the educational potential of outdoor teaching and learning. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 14(1), 56–81.
Fägerstam, E., & Blom, J. (2013). Learning biology and mathematics outdoors: effects and attitudes in a Swedish high school context. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 13(1), 56–75.
Gandini, L. (1998). Educational and caring spaces. In C. Edwards, L. Gandini, and G. Foreman (Eds.), The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia approach—Advanced reflections (2nd ed., pp. 161–178). Ablex.
Giudici, C., Rinaldi, C., & Krechevsky, M. (2001). Making learning visible: Children as individual and group learners. Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Gray, C., Gibbons, R., Larouche, R., Sandseter, E. B. H., Bienenstock, A., Brussoni, M., Chabot, G., Herrington, S., Janssen, I., Pickett, W., Power, M., Stanger, N., Sampson, M., & Tremblay, M. S. (2015). What is the relationship between outdoor time and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and physical fitness in children? A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 12, 6455-6474.
Harris, F. (2009). Perspectives on educational visits to farms: a report on research with farmers, teachers, children and parents. Kingston University.
Hazard, L., Steyaert, P., Martin, G., Couix, N., Navas, M. L., Duru, M., Lauvie, A., & Labatut, J. (2018). Mutual learning between researchers and farmers during implementation of scientific principles for sustainable development: The case of biodiversity-based agriculture. Sustainability Science, 13(2), 517–530.
Hiebl, M. R. (2021). Sample selection in systematic literature reviews of management research. Organizational research methods, XX(X), 1-33.
Jeronen, E., Palmberg, I., & Yli-Panula, E. (2017). Teaching Methods in Biology Education and Sustainability Education Including Outdoor Education for Promoting Sustainability—A Literature Review. Education Sciences, 7(1), 1–19.
Jesson, J., & Lacey, F. (2006). How to do (or not to do) a critical literature review. Pharmacy Education, 6(2), 139–148
Jolly, L., Krogh, E., Nergaard, T., Parow, K., & Trondelag, N. (2004) The Farm as a Pedagogical Resource An evaluation of the co-operation between agriculture and primary school in the county of Nord-Trondelag, Norway, 6th European Symposium on Farming and Rural Systems Research and Extension, Vila Real, Portugal.
Jolly, L., & Krogh, E. (2010). School-farm Cooperation in Norway: Background and recent research. Academic Foundation of Learning on Farms. Proceedings of the 1st Conference of the Academic Initiative on Farms as Sites of Learning, 10-12, 5–20.
Joshi, A., Azuma, A. M., & Feenstra, G. (2008). Do farm-to-school programs make a difference? findings and future research needs. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 3(2–3), 229–246.
Kangas, M., Kopisto, K., Löfman, K., Salo, L., & Krokfors, L. (2017). ‘I’ll take care of the flowers!’ Researching agency through initiatives across different learning environments. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 17(1), 82–91.
Klemmer, C. D., Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (2005a). Development of a science achievement evaluation instrument for a school garden program. HortTechnology, 15(3), 433–437.
Klemmer, C. D., Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (2005b). Growing minds: The effect of a school gardening program on the science achievement of elementary students. HortTechnology, 15(3), 448–452.
Knobloch, N. A., Ball, A. L., & Allen, C. (2007). The benefits of teaching and learning about agriculture in elementary and junior high schools. Introduction and Theoretical Framework. Journal of Agricultural Education, 48(3), 25–36.
Krogh, E., & Jolly, L. (2011). Making Sense of Place: School-Farm Cooperation in Norway. Children, Youth and Environments, 21(1), 310–321.
Kropp, J. D., Abarca-Orozco, S. J., Israel, G. D., Diehl, D. C., Galindo-Gonzalez, S., Headrick, L. B., & Shelnutt, K. P. (2018). A Plate Waste Evaluation of the Farm to School Program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 50(4), 332–339.
Learning and Teaching Scotland. (2010). Scottish Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning https://education.gov.scot/Documents/cfe-through-outdoor-learning.pdf
Lu, W., Liu, Z., Huang, Y., Bu, Y., Li, X., & Cheng, Q. (2020). How do authors select keywords? A preliminary study of author keyword selection behavior. Journal of Informetrics, 14(4), 1–17.
Marcombe, W. (2013). Get on my land, MSc Thesis, Bristol University.
Mayer-Smith, J., Bartosh, O., & Peterat, L. (2009). Cultivating and Reflecting on Intergenerational Environmental Education on the Farm. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 14(1), 107-121.
Mayer-Smith, J., & Peterat, L. (2019). Sowing seeds of stewardship through intergenerational gardening. In Winograd, K. (Ed.), Education in Times of Environmental Crises. Teaching Children to Be Agents of Change (pp. 61-72), Routledge.
McIver Mattu, L. M. (2016). Farm Visits: Interdisciplinary outdoor learning for Primary School Pupils and Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence. PhD Thesis. University of Glasgow.
Mygind, E. (2007). A comparison between children’s physical activity levels at school and learning in an outdoor environment. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 7(2), 161–176.
National Farm to School Network (2021). https://www.farmtoschool.org
Nigris, E., Balconi, B., Catalani, P., Valente, D., Zanon, M., & Zecca, L. (2014). La scuola in campo. Quando la fattoria incontra la scuola. Possibili percorsi per la scuola Primaria. Regione Lombardia.
Nigris, E., & Balconi, B. (2015). “Cibo, cultura identità”: un modello formativo innovativo di educazione alimentare. [Food, culture identity: an innovative training model of nutrition education]. Pedagogia più Didattica, 1(2).
Norðdahl, K., & Jóhannesson, I. Á. (2016). ‘Let’s go outside’: Icelandic teachers’ views of using the outdoors. Education 3-13, 44(4), 391–406.
Nuutinen, A. M. (2018). The Encounters Project in Espoo/Finland. In C. Affolter and A. Varga (Eds.), Environment and School Initiatives: Lessons from the ENSI Network-Past, Present and Future, (pp. 108–114). Environment and School Initiatives-ENSI.
O’Brien, L., & Murray, R. (2007). Forest School and its impacts on young children: Case studies in Britain. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 6, 249–265.
Peterat, L., & Mayersmith, J. (2006). Farm Friends. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 4(1), 107–116.
Pigg, A. E., Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (2006). Effects of a gardening program on the academic progress of third, fourth, and fifth grade math and science students. HortTechnology, 16(2), 262–264.
Qais, F. (2018). PhD Thesis Writing Process: A Systematic Approach - How to Write Your Literature Review. Creative Education, 9, 2912–2919.
Queensland Government Department of Education. (2018). https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-educators/other-education/OEEC
Risku-Norja, H., & Korpela, E. (2010). School goes to the farm: conceptualisation of rural-based sustainability education. In European Science Education Research Association Conference (pp. 175–184). Istanbul, Turkey.
Roberts, A., Hinds, J., & Camic, P. M. (2019). Nature activities and wellbeing in children and young people: a systematic literature review. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 1–21.
Robinson-O’Brien, R., Story, M., & Heim, S. (2009). Impact of garden-based youth nutrition intervention programs: a review. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(2), 273–280.
Savoie-Roskos, M. R., Wengreen, H., & Durward, C. (2017). Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Children and Youth through Gardening-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 117(2), 240–250.
Scott, G., Churchill, H., Grassam, M., & Scott, L. (2012). Can the integration of field and classroom-based learning enhance writing? The life on our shore case study. Education 3-13, 40(5), 547–560.
Scott, G. W., Boyd, M., Scott, L., & Colquhoun, D. (2015). Barriers to biological fieldwork: What really prevents teaching out of doors? Journal of Biological Education, 49(2), 165–178.
Selmer, S. J., Rye, J. A., Malone, E., Fernandez, D., & Trebino, K. (2014). What Should We Grow in Our School Garden to Sell at the Farmers’ Market? Initiating Statistical Literacy through Science and Mathematics Integration. Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas, 51(1), 17–32.
Skamp, K., & Bergmann, I. (2001). Facilitating learnscape development, maintenance, and use: Teachers’ perceptions and self-reported practices. Environmental Education Research, 7, 333– 358.
Smeds, P. (2017). Farm Education–sustainability, food and education. Doctoral dissertation, University of Oulu Graduate School.
Smeds, P. Jeronen, E., & Kurppa, S. (2015a). Farm Education and The Effect of a Farm Visit on Children’s Conception of Agriculture. European Journal of Educational Research, 4(1), 1-13.
Smeds, P., Jeronen, E., & Kurppa, S. (2015b). Farm education and the value of learning in an authentic learning environment. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 10(3), 381-404.
Smith, S. (2018). Life After ENSI: New Directions, Different Models and More Flexible Support Structures. In C. Affolter and A. Varga (Eds.). Environment and School Initiatives: Lessons from the ENSI Network-Past, Present and Future, (pp. 279–288). Environment and School Initiatives – ENSI.
Tal, T., & Morag, O. (2009). Reflective practice as a means for preparing to teach outdoors in an ecological garden. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 20, 245–262.
Torquati, J., & Ernst, J. A. (2013). Beyond the Walls: Conceptualizing Natural Environments as “Third Educators.” Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34(2), 191–208.
Trexler, C. J., Johnson, T., & Heinze, K. (2000). Elementary and middle school teacher ideas about the agri-food system and their evaluation of agri-system stakeholders’ suggestions for education. Journal of Agricultural Education, 41(1), 30–38.
Tripathi, M., Kumar, S., Sonker, S. K., & Babbar, P. (2018). Occurrence of author keywords and keywords plus in social sciences and humanities research: A preliminary study. COLLNET Journal of Scientometrics and Information Management, 12(2), 215–232.
UNESCO International Bureau of Education. (2013). Glossary of curriculum terminology. http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/IBE_GlossaryCurriculumTerminology2013_eng.pdf
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2019). Global Sustainable Development Report 2019: The Future is Now – Science for Achieving Sustainable Development. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24797GSDR_report_2019.pdf
Vare, P., Arro, G., De Hamer, A., Del Gobbo, G., De Vries, G., Farioli, F., Kadji-Beltran, C., Kangur, M., Mayer, M., Millican, R., Nijdam, C., Réti, M., & Zachariou, A. (2019). Devising a competence-based training program for educators of sustainable development: Lessons learned. Sustainability, 11(7), 1890, 1-21.
Vinatier, I., & Altet, M. (Eds.). (2008). Analyser et comprendre la pratique enseignante. Presses Universitaires de Rennes.
Williams, D. R., & Dixon, P. S. (2013). Impact of Garden-Based Learning on Academic Outcomes in Schools. Review of Educational Research, 83(2), 211–235.
Zhai, J. (2012). Engaging children in learning ecological science: Two botanic garden educators’ pedagogical practices. In Tan, K. C. D. and Kim, M. (Eds.), Issues and Challenges in Science Education Research: Moving Forward (pp. 301–315). Springer.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Investigaci´ón en la Escuela
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal accept the following conditions:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work registered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), which allows third parties to use the published work, provided that proper acknowledgement is given; the authorship of the work and first publication in AVANCES are mentioned; the material is not used for commercial purposes; and, if you create other material from the original material (e.g. a translation), you must distribute your contribution under this same licence as the original.
- Authors may enter into separate and additional contractual arrangements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., inclusion in an institutional repository or publication in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was first published in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to publish their work on the Internet (e.g. on institutional or personal websites) before and during the review and publication process, as it may lead to productive exchanges and to a wider and faster dissemination of the published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
Accepted 2022-08-01
Published 2023-07-17
- Abstract 364
- PDF 244
