1.00 – 2.00pm, Tuesday 27 October, 2009
Room 515, Level 5, 207 Bouverie Street
Presented by Karen Block, Research Fellow, The McCaughey Centre, Melbourne School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne
A research team from the McCaughey Centre and Deakin University has recently completed a two and a half year, mixed method evaluation of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program in Victorian primary schools. The program objective is to provide a pleasurable experience that will positively influence children’s food choices, attitudes towards environmental sustainability and working relationships with other children and adults by offering children the opportunity to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, nutritious, seasonal and delicious food.
Data was collected from six schools that had been running the program for one to two years. In addition to questionnaires with children, parents and teachers; focus groups and interviews were conducted to elicit the views of children, teachers, parents, program volunteers, school principals and kitchen and garden staff. The evaluation found that the program had positive impacts on children’s appreciation of a diverse range of healthy food as well as on their knowledge and confidence in the kitchen and garden. This presentation will focus on qualitative data from this study, which suggest that the program also had a range of impacts on the social and learning environment of the school.
Some of the attributes of the program valued most highly by study participants included opportunities for experiential and integrated learning, teamwork, building social skills, social connections and links between schools and their communities. Increased student engagement and confidence was also a key theme and seen by many as particularly valuable for ‘non-academic’ or ‘challenging’ children, some of whom had few other opportunities for experiencing ‘success’ at school. The program was seen as directly benefiting not only the children but also the other stakeholder groups by creating a ‘learning community’ in which all could be involved.
Karen Block is a Research Fellow and PhD candidate in the McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne. Karen has an interest in qualitative methodologies and mixed methods research and is currently working on a range of projects involving children and young people with a focus on social inclusion, health inequalities, evaluating complex interventions and working in collaborative partnerships with the community.
For further information please contact the McCaughey Centre on 03 8344 9101.
Powered by FireStats