Nury Edris, Sarti Asia, Dijkstra Coosje, Seidell Jacob C, Dedding Christine
Department of Palliative Care, University Medical Center Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
Athena Institute for Research on Innovation and Communication in Health and Life Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, VU University, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Jun 25;14(7):688. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14070688.
School gardening programmes are among the most promising interventions to improve children's vegetable intake. Yet, low vegetable intake among children remains a persistent public health challenge. This study aimed to explore children's perspectives, experiences, and motivations concerning school gardening in order to better understand and increase its potential for health promotion. Using participant observation and semi-structured interviews, we provided 45 primary schoolchildren (9-10 years) from Amsterdam, who participated in a comprehensive year-round school gardening programme, the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas on school gardening. Children particularly expressed enjoyment of the outdoor gardening portion of the programme as it enabled them to be physically active and independently nurture their gardens. Harvesting was the children's favourite activity, followed by planting and sowing. In contrast, insufficient gardening time and long explanations or instructions were especially disliked. Experiencing fun and enjoyment appeared to play a vital role in children's motivation to actively participate. Children's suggestions for programme improvements included more autonomy and opportunities for experimentation, and competition elements to increase fun and variety. Our results indicate that gaining insight into children's perspectives allows matching school gardening programmes more to children's wishes and expectations, thereby potentially enhancing their intrinsic motivation for gardening and vegetable consumption.
学校园艺项目是改善儿童蔬菜摄入量最有前景的干预措施之一。然而，儿童蔬菜摄入量低仍然是一个长期存在的公共卫生挑战。本研究旨在探讨儿童对学校园艺的看法、经历和动机，以便更好地理解并提高其促进健康的潜力。通过参与观察和半结构化访谈，我们为来自阿姆斯特丹的45名小学生（9至10岁）提供了分享他们对学校园艺的经历和想法的机会，这些学生参加了一个全面的全年学校园艺项目。孩子们特别表示喜欢该项目中的户外园艺部分，因为这使他们能够进行体育活动并独立照料自己的花园。收获是孩子们最喜欢的活动，其次是种植和播种。相比之下，他们特别不喜欢园艺时间不足以及冗长的解释或说明。体验乐趣似乎在孩子们积极参与的动机中起着至关重要的作用。孩子们对项目改进的建议包括更多的自主权和实验机会，以及增加乐趣和多样性的竞争元素。我们的结果表明，深入了解孩子们的观点可以使学校园艺项目更符合孩子们的愿望和期望，从而有可能增强他们从事园艺和食用蔬菜的内在动力。
