Youth Engagement
Effects of Garden-based Learning Program for Adolescent Latina-American Girls and Their Parents View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Peter Rillero
Parents can influence their children’s interests and confidence by creating positive learning environments. The Our Plot of Sunshine program uses a Family Problem-Based Learning (FPBL) model that evolved from our Problem-Based Enhanced Language Learning model. It was implemented with Latina-American 5th and 6th grade girls and their parents, who were challenged to design, plant from seeds, care for, and harvest in seven-weeks foods for a tostada party. Lettuce and radishes were common selections because of their rapid growth. The model punctuates the growing gardens with targeted hands-on activities focused on parts of plants, needs of plants, soil, other garden organisms, and the concept of surface area to volume ratio. After the 90-minute FPBL session, 30-minute Conversation Groups (CGs) were held separately for daughters and parents, which explored various topics including cultural and science identities, STEM careers, and positive methods for involvement. The Saturday program was delivered in both English and Spanish. A variety of data sources inform the overall project including pre, mid, post, and delayed post-surveys; a demographic survey; videotaping and analysis of parent-daughter interactions; researcher observations; and focus groups. This presentation is reporting on the girls’ science identity and parents efficacy for supporting their daughters in science items that were used as a pre, mid, post, and delayed posttest.
“I Became Kind of Like a Leader”: Promoting Positive Youth Development in School Gardens
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mariam Takkouch, Isha DeCoito
School and community gardens are examples of urban agriculture projects that teach students how healthy food can be grown while caring for the environment. This research explores the role of school gardens, as an outdoor environmental education setting, in fostering connections between high school students and their community using the positive youth development model (Bowers et al., 2010). In this model, communities benefit from youth who are engaged and active as citizens, and the youth are valued and supported by their respective communities. The elements of this model are the 5Cs: competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring. This study explores how participating in school gardens contributes to high school students’ 5Cs of youth development. This research employed a mixed-method approach, specifically a case study method in an urban high school that maintained a garden on its grounds in Ontario, Canada. Participants included 23 high school students, one teacher, one principal, one volunteer, and one garden coordinator. Data sources included school garden observations; semi-structured interviews with students and their teacher, school principal and garden coordinator; and students’ surveys. Findings show the positive impact of involving students in the garden on their competence, confidence, and character. Working in the garden was shown to empower students especially from underrepresented groups. Students also built connections with community members, which exemplified connection and caring. These findings provide new insights about school gardens as a setting that nurtures students’ positive development and establishes community connections in a way that is inclusive to students from all backgrounds.
Schools as Learning Communities for Inclusion: Two Case Studies View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maria José D. Martins, Amélia Marchão, Teresa Oliveira, Joana Pisco Véstia Da Silva
There is a growing call for schools to transform into learning communities, in which teachers take responsibility for leading students to achieve the highest levels of learning, through collaboration. The INCLUD-ED approach aims to transform schools into learning communities, to increase social cohesion, inclusion, and academic success, challenging schools and the educational community, as a whole, to work together to transform difficulties into opportunities (Flecha, 2015). This approach suggests a set of successful educational actions, namely, interactive groups, literary and artistic gatherings, educational participation of the community (volunteers at school), training of families, dialogical training of teachers, and the dialogical model of conflict resolution (CREA, 2020). The present research studies two schools that were implementing the INCLUD-ED approach. The qualitative method based on case studies is used. Thus, interviews were carried out with teachers, family members, school staff and volunteers and focus group were conducted with pupils. The data suggest that the project was mainly implemented in both educational establishments at primary school, that interactive groups in class were promoted by teachers, and the use of volunteers in the classroom, although these were mostly family members or non-teaching staff from the school. Involvement in the project varied from teacher to teacher, but almost everyone involved considers that this approach allows greater family and community participation in school activities. Differences are discussed. Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) supports this work- project PTDC/CED-EDG/4650/2021-LC4 Inclusion and **VALORIZA – Research Centre for Endogenous Resource Valorization
Growing Through Connection: A Phenomenological Study of High School Cultural Immersion Programs View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Melissa Livermore
This phenomenological study examined how alums made meaning of their cultural immersion programs during high school. I selected 10 participants (five men and five women) who graduated from a Midwest private high school between 2012 and 2021 and attended at least one of the Guatemala or Ethiopia immersion programs between 2012 and 2019. Data collection comprised surveys, semi-structured interviews, artifacts, and researcher’s notes. The first theme generated by data analysis revealed participants’ motivations to join the programs. The second theme indicated that while abroad, participants experienced discomfort before overcoming communication challenges and appreciating the host culture. The third theme showed the enduring effects of the programs. Contact theory explained the role of personal interactions participants develop during their cultural immersion programs. Intercultural competency theory helped analyze participants’ intercultural competency development. The findings of this study indicate personal contact is an essential element. Also, study abroad programs increase participants’ intercultural competency skills. School leaders should encourage high school students to participate in at least one immersion experience. Future research should expand on this study to understand how differences in identity, such as race and gender, affect individuals’ cultural immersion experiences.
