- physical and social environments to improve learning
- can encourage physical activity, healthy eating
- source of more informal, experiential learning; integration of community and school

Hamilton College

Ray, R., Fisher, D. R., & Fisher-Maltese, C. (2016). School gardens in the city: Does environmental equity help close the achievement gap? Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 13(2), 379-395. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742058X16000229 

School Gardens in the City: Does Environmental Equity Help Close the Achievement Gap?

Aims

1.) Compare student performance between traditional schools and garden-based education schools.

2.) Investigate whether school gardens can help mitigate racial and social class achievement gaps.


Hypotheses

1.) School gardens will be more likely to be present in schools with a higher proportion of White students, lower proportion of free and reduced-lunch students.

2.) School gardens will be associated with higher test scores.

3.) School gardens can reduce the association between racial and social class composition of students and their academic achievement.

Aims and Hypotheses

School Gardens

- academic achievement- 5th grade test scores in science, math, reading
- social class composition- percent of students qualifying for free- or reduced-lunch 
- racial composition- percentage of each race
- school gardens- either presence or absence of school garden (Washington DC schools)

Variables

- Black and low-income students are overrepresented in schools without gardens (91% Black in schools without gardens, 54% Black in schools with gardens)
- In schools with gardens, students are more likely to be proficient or advanced in math, reading, and science
- hypothesis that school gardens attenuate race and class achievement gaps not supported
- when controlling for income, relation between gardens and test scores is weaker but still exists
- when controlling for racial composition, relation between gardens and test scores is nonsignificant
- school gardens do not mitigate the relationship between race and class composition and academic performance

Results

- the equal distribution of environmental risks and resources across populations
- school and neighborhood contexts, buildings, pollution, etc. 

Environmental Equity

Research indicates that school gardens alone do not successfully mitigate race and class achievement gaps in education. Furthermore, school gardens are more prevalent in White, middle- and upper-class schools, highlighting environmental disparities that may contribute to these achievement gaps. Future research should experimentally implement school garden-related curricula to better evaluate their potential educational benefits.

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