Influence of School Garden Learning Approach on Academic Development of Global Service-Learners

Abstract

Students need to develop cross-cultural awareness and understanding, which has led educational institutions to create high-impact global programs to enhance their learning. Global service-learning, a U.S.-based pedagogy, interconnects service-learning, study abroad, and international education programs. A service-learning program of our study in Uganda was founded on the school garden approach. The Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL), Iowa State University, and Makerere University adopted school gardens as a feasible approach to fulfill the service-learning curricular objectives and meet CSRL’s goal of solving undernutrition in schools using gardens as an outdoor learning laboratory and for products in school lunches. This study sought to determine the influence of service-learning program activities on alumni’s academic development. Alumni (n= 274) from 2006-2019 completed a self-administered questionnaire through Qualtrics where 94.2% responded. A principal components analysis (PCA) was employed, aligning activities into three components. The first component loaded school gardening, bi-national team projects, arrival orientations, farmer field visits, and school teaching assistance, depicting alumni’s community engagement in reciprocal learning. Component two loaded journaling/logbooks, critical reflections, and presentations, depicting alumni’s reflexive actions resulting in cognitive development through documenting and confronting their assumptions about their service-learning activities. Component three loaded co-curriculars, tours and travels, and social parties, portraying alumni’s social life that provided opportunities to learn about distinct cultures. Pre-departure orientations loaded well on Iowa State University alumni’s PCA which mitigated culture shocks while in Uganda. Alumni could benefit overall from more instructor-led cognitive development activities whereby they could both learn from and question their activities.