Encouraging play in school gardens may support a state of well-being that is optimal for learningLearning and playing are highly interconnected in early childhood. School gardens offer young children rich opportunities to engage in authentic and purposeful play that supports learning and development. The many benefits of children’s play and learning in gardens—including healthy cognitive development, academic and social learning, and overall well-being—are widely documented by existing research.
This theoretical article explores how “play in school gardens can improve motivation and promote meaningful learning in the early childhood years and beyond.” The authors ground their examination of gardens as spaces of purposeful play in self-determination theory, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology. The authors also draw on their prior research and experience with a learning garden program in a large school district with a high percentage of low-income students in Arizona, U.S. Examples from their experiences are used to highlight evidence-based practices.
Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that people of all ages possess basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness to achieve a state of well-being that is optimal for learning. According to the literature, play and learning in gardens enable such a state of well-being through the provision of authentic opportunities for children to: (1) experience autonomy through engagement in activities they perceive to be important and meaningful; (2) develop a sense of competence by solving real problems and seeing tangible results; and (3) satisfy needs for relatedness by forming positive relationships. Additionally, research highlights the importance of incorporating cultural knowledge to provide children with a sense of belonging and support their needs for culturally relevant learning in the garden. Gardens that enable purposeful play can also foster well-being through cognitive, social and emotional development. “The garden serves as a place where children can restore cognitive energy and continue to process classroom learning on a subconscious level while engaging in complementary tasks that continue to support their creativity and cognitive development.” The positive emotions children experience in school gardens—such as happiness, confidence, surprise and wonder—may support improved engagement in learning and academic achievement. Importantly, such emotions may help to shape favorable perceptions towards learning and school in general. Play in learning gardens also contributes to young children’s identity development by giving children a sense of purpose and helping children to develop confidence in their abilities.
Learning gardens hold much potential to encourage purposeful play that fulfills children’s basic psychological needs while supporting meaningful learning, optimal development and well-being. “Ensuring access to spaces and places that foster a natural sense of curiosity and invoke purposeful play should not be viewed as antithetical to academic learning but should instead be seen as a way to invest in long-term academic success and the well-being of students.” It is essential to prioritize funding for school garden programs and to develop teacher preparation programs that increase understanding of how to incorporate school gardens into learning.
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