School Gardens Enhance Academic Performance and Dietary Outcomes in Children
Berezowitz C., Bontrager Yoder A., Schoeller D.
Journal of School Health, 85(8):508-518
Urban Farm DB summary
A review examining the academic and dietary effects of school garden programs. It found that garden-based learning does not harm academic performance and may favorably affect science and math achievement as well as fruit and vegetable intake and preferences.
Key points
- 1School garden programs showed potential to improve predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption.
- 2The majority of studies measuring self-reported fruit and vegetable intake showed an increase.
- 3Garden interventions also suggested potential for improving academic achievement in science and math.
- 4Garden-based learning was shown not to negatively impact academic performance or fruit and vegetable consumption.
- 5The review suggests that garden-based learning may favorably impact both academic performance and fruit and vegetable intake.
Extracted facts
8 factsOnly numbers and their conditions are stored, as structured data — never the source's own sentences. Metric and condition names stay in English, as coded.
- 12
study count with dietary measures(school garden study)
Health- study design
- literature-review
- search through
- 2013-05
- setting
- school-day-garden-interventions
- 7
study count with self reported fv intake(school garden study)
Health- study design
- literature-review
- denominator
- 12-studies-with-dietary-measures
- 4
study count with academic outcomes(school garden study)
Social- study design
- literature-review
- 12↑ Increase
study count showing improved fv predictors(school garden study)
Health- study design
- literature-review
- denominator
- 12-studies-with-dietary-measures
- 5↑ Increase
study count showing increased fv intake(school garden study)
Health- study design
- literature-review
- denominator
- 7-studies-with-self-reported-fv-intake
- 2→ No change
study count showing no change fv intake(school garden study)
Health- study design
- literature-review
- denominator
- 7-studies-with-self-reported-fv-intake
- 2↑ Increase
study count showing improved science achievement(school garden study)
Social- study design
- literature-review
- denominator
- 4-studies-with-academic-outcomes
- 1↑ Increase
study count showing improved math scores(school garden study)
Social- study design
- literature-review
- denominator
- 4-studies-with-academic-outcomes
Direction of conclusions
Each author conclusion is recorded only as a coded direction per topic. Read the original for the conclusion itself.
- Education and learningMixedWith caveats
- Nutrition and healthMixedWith caveats
Abstract and stored text
OpenAlexBACKGROUND: Schools face increasing demands to provide education on healthy living and improve core academic performance. Although these appear to be competing concerns, they may interact beneficially. This article focuses on school garden programs and their effects on students' academic and dietary outcomes. METHODS: Database searches in CABI, Web of Science, Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Education Full Text, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and PsychINFO were conducted through May 2013 for peer-reviewed literature related to school-day garden interventions with measures of dietary and/or academic outcomes. RESULTS: Among 12 identified garden studies with dietary measures, all showed increases/improvements in predictors of fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption. Seven of these also included self-reported FV intake with 5 showing an increase and 2 showing no change. Four additional interventions that included a garden component measured academic outcomes; of these, 2 showed improvements in science achievement and 1 measured and showed improvements in math scores. CONCLUSIONS: This small set of studies offers evidence that garden-based learning does not negatively impact academic performance or FV consumption and may favorably impact both. Additional studies with more robust experimental designs and outcome measures are necessary to understand the effects of experiential garden-based learning on children's academic and dietary outcomes.
Why it matters for urban farming
This study suggests that school gardens can enhance both children's healthy eating habits and academic performance, offering significant implications for citizen-driven urban farms. Urban farms can serve as venues to provide food education to local children, fostering their interest in vegetables and fruits. Furthermore, experiential learning through farming activities can offer opportunities to deepen understanding in subjects like science and math, contributing to children's holistic development. It highlights the potential for community members to contribute to both food education and learning support by engaging with children through urban farms.