INTEGRATING SCHOOL GARDENS INTO THE

CURRICULUM

LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD GOALS:HEALTH, PROSPERITY, SECURITY

• to eat well

• to be healthy• to make a living

• to be educated for all of these

• to live in a healthy environment

• to have love, self-esteem

THE ACTION CURRICULUM

WHAT DO WE NEED TO LEARN?

• how to get food/grow food

• how to eat healthy and act healthy

• to link the two, to grow food for health• to produce/develop something to sell for a

livelihood (food or skill)

• to protect and enjoy the environment

• to build self-respect

ACTION LEARNING FOR LIFE AND LIVELIHOODS

an action-based curriculumsupported by knowledge and understanding• “The curriculum is all planned learning experiences and

activities”• WHO (health ed.): skills-based curriculum• HIV/AIDS health ed, NE: social learning, skills-based • WRT: action objectives, practice-based (e.g. agriculture)Outcomes depend on actions.An action-based curriculum is a powerful organizer.

CORE DISCLIPLINES

- Agriculture

- Nutrition

- Environment- Marketing

and Science to

explain it all

= NAMES

THE AGRICULTURE CYCLE

THE AGRICULTURE CYCLE

What do we grow? How do we grow it?

• Analyse the situation • Decide what to plant/raise • Prepare • Plant/Establish • Tend/Grow/Protect• Harvest (don’t waste)

MMEC

The rest of the cycle:

• MONITOR• MOTIVATE• EVALUATE • CELEBRATE

And start again

THE ENVIRONMENT CYCLE

What shall we do for our environment?What can we grow for it?

E.g.

shade trees woodlot

living fences bushes

wild plants boskage

water places to play

flowers places to eat

places to sit and study

places to cook

What do we get from the environment?

What do we do to it? What do we give back?

How can we protect it and improve it?

Relationships of garden work with

SOIL WATER ANIMALS INSECTS

PLANTS SUN RAIN AIR

THE HEALTHY EATING CYCLE

What shall we grow to be healthy?How will we prepare/ conserve/ consume it?

Analyse the situation-• What do we eat?

• What do we grow?• What should we eat

to be healthy?• What can we grow to

be healthy?

HEALTHY EATING (contd.)What we do before planting• Discuss what’s needed• Decide what to grow and why• Plan what to do with the produce

What we do after harvesting:• Plan dishes/meals• Prepare for cooking (fuel, cooker)• Prepare and cook (how? why? who?)• Consume – eating eventsTHENEvaluate and celebrate

MARKET GARDENING CYCLE

What can we grow to sell?

When/where/to whom can we sell it?

How much profit can we make?

What skills do we have?

Analyse the situation

Research the market and get product ideas

What to do before planting- Discuss product ideas- Create a product team- Make a business plan and establish objectives- Decide what to do with the profit and whyWhat to do before and after harvesting- Find outlets- Prepare/package/promote- Sell- Do accounting- Use the profitEvaluate and celebrate

THE GARDEN CURRICULUM A sequence of purposeful,

informed actions, with • analysis of situation• planning

• informed decision-making• practised behaviour• monitoring

• motivation• evaluation and• celebration

LEARNERS RIDE THE CYCLE

• MANAGE • RECORD

• FIND OUT • COMMUNICATE • PASS IT ON

• ENJOY IT

Learners must MANAGE

analyse

decide/choose

prioritize/plan/budget

organize

discuss

carry out/collaborate

monitor

evaluate

Learners must KEEP RECORDS

• accounts• sales• quantities• documents• diaries/logs• visitors’ books• rotas • growth• yields, times

Learners must FIND OUT

LEARN FROM LIFE by• observing/measuring/

counting/experimenting• researching /reading • asking/interviewing

• predicting and comparing

inside and outside school

They should look at

people, practices, places

Learners must COMMUNICATE

• Discuss, explain,

tell, ask, justify

• Make notices, labels,

posters• Interview, present

• Advertise, promote,

practise sales talk

Learners must COMMUNICATE (contd.)

• Role-play predictable home discussions (e.g. gender roles, agricultural methods, cooking)

• Keep records, diaries, photos, scrapbooks, write up experiments

• Dramatise, describe, tell stories (the garden is a story)

• Talk to families, community, peers, siblings

Learners must PASS IT ON Learners (and graduates) :• teach others • have adult confidants

• guide garden tours• promote issues (bees are

best!) • invite the media

• display, demonstrate,

present• make copycat gardens

(and what about HOMEWORK?)

HOMEWORK

IS A MAJOR

MEANS OF

COMMUNICATION

AND SHARING

Learners must ENJOY

Intrinsic pleasure, and• pride and ownership • fun and games

• competition(s)• encouragement • drama, stories

• celebration• eating and feasting

THE WIDER CURRICULUM

• Involving the family• Involving the community• Involving the whole

school: cooks, gardeners, caretakers, food vendors

AS...

learners, resources, helpers, informants, experts, workers, sponsors, audience

WE NEED TIME

Garden work timeLesson time for understanding, observing, recording, discussing, planningHomework time for trying out, finding out,passing it onTime for celebration,outreach, publicity, displays and EATING

INTEGRATING GARDEN LEARNING

MODELS/PROTOTYPES: PROS AND CONS (1-2)

1 OUT OF SCHOOL • Freedom

• Incentives?• Sustainability?

2 SCHOOL-BASED PROJECTS

• Pilot projects iron out problems• Sustainability? Upscaling?

MODELS/PROTOTYPES: PROS AND CONS (3)

3 EXTRA-CURRICULAR PROGRAMMES Good possibilities of • family/community support• whole-school participation• government support/ fundingDepends on school and community enthusiasmComes second to examsMay neglect education for funds or foodOften unmonitored and unaccountable

MODELS/PROTOTYPES: PROS AND CONS (4)

4 MORE OR LESS CURRICULAR• Local curriculum - local foods, dishes, status? • “Covered” in Science, Env. Studies, Home

Economics, Agriculture – but how covered?– Sometimes elective – partial participation– Competition with exams– Classroom methodology and garden methodology

often don’t mix well– Nutrition doesn’t feature

MODELS/PROTOTYPES: PROS AND CONS (5)

5 CROSS-CURRICULAR INFUSION• Valuable for awareness-raising and education

of the school and community• Vitalises other school subjects• Needs teacher development, goodwill,

inspiration, government encouragement• Above all, distinguish core “garden learning”

from learning other subjects in the garden

MODELS/PROTOTYPES: PROS AND CONS (6)

2 FULL CURRICULUM (example?)• Full subject with exams / assessment?

• Status?• Need for practical assessment?• Loss of freedom/ experimentation/ pleasure?

• Narrow curriculum?

THANKS!