The Status and Barriers to the Implementation and Continuation of the School Gardening Projects in Germany, Nigeria and the United States of America: Obstacles, Strengths and Weaknesses

,

• Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN:
  9783736935105
• Print ISBN:
  9783869555102
• Edition: 1

Several studies have shown that educational attainment has reached a historicallyhigh level with nearly one in six rural adults holding a degree in a specific domainand three out of four have completed high school. However, in some developingcountries where emphasis has not been seriously placed on education for all, thenumber lags way behind. As the demand for food is increasing, people withagricultural knowledge are required to produce food to meet the growing demand.But the trend in agriculture has not been able to achieve this goal despite the levelof school completers in both developed and developing countries.To address this trend, this study assessed the status of school gardeninginstruction, compared and contrast students' and teachers' perceptions on schoolgardening projects and evaluated the level of teaching in the field of agriculture.This study evaluated factors influencing student and teacher interactions inregards to gardening and identifies the potential solutions that could be used topromote and increase the effectiveness of gardening projects. The potential rolesof parents, community members, government and state agencies in the furtherdevelopment of school gardening programs were also evaluated. The data wascollected from teachers and students in middle and high schools in Germany, Nigeria and U.S. The primary method of data collection involved the use ofquestionnaires which were distributed to 300 students and 33 teachers in the threecountries; 100 students and 11 teachers were selected from each country. Thedata were analyzed using quantitative methods. The results of this study identifiedteachers and school principals as the primary instruments of school gardeningsuccess. To increase the promotion, implementation and success of schoolgardening programs, principals and teachers should identify areas of need for theirparticular school related to gardening and make improvements to effect positivechanges. Also parents, community members, government and state agenciesshould express commitment to the school's role in order to set realistic objectivesfor successful school gardening project.