Growing for health: Harvesting the perspectives of children, parents, and teachers on the benefits and barriers of children’s home and school gardening

This thesis aimed to learn more about fruit and vegetable (FV) gardening at school and at home in the United Kingdom (UK). To do this, a series of studies were conducted to investigate FV gardening behaviours in schools and at home in the UK, to gain stakeholders’ perspectives on school and home FV gardening, and to understand if diet-related variables (e.g. eating behaviours, eating preferences) differ based on FV garden participation. A mixed-methods approach was used across seven empirical studies. These studies are distinct due to their sample populations: teachers (Studies 1 and 2), parents (Studies 3 and 4), and children (Studies 5, 6, and 7). Study 1 aimed to learn more about how school FV gardens are comprised, how they’re used, and teachers’ perspectives of them. Study 2 aimed to better understand the reasons that schools have for utilising FV gardens by following up with sub-sample of participants for in-depth phone interviews. Studies 1 and 2 found that teachers felt that school FV gardening can help children to taste more FV and to have better wellbeing. Studies 3 (online survey) and 4 (individual interviews) sought to learn more about both parents’ and children’s FV gardening behaviours via parent-report. Parents provided their perspectives on school and home FV gardening, and information on whether eating behaviours differed amongst individuals with different levels of FV garden participation. The results showed that many of these parents provide children with repeated exposure to FV through gardening and that children typically consume the produce grown in the garden. Study 5 surveyed children and sought to better understand children’s experience with FV gardens and how their eating behaviours and wellbeing may differ based on level of FV garden participation. Study 6 utilised focus groups to learn more about children’s experiences when engaging with FV gardens, their perspectives on FV gardening, and their FV preferences. Studies 5 and 6 found that children report consuming more FV because of FV gardens, that they feel good while gardening, and Study 6 found that they generally prefer to eat the FV that they have grown in comparison to those from the supermarket. Study 7 (adapted due to the COVID-19 pandemic) measured children’s FV recognition in the absence of a formal school intervention across a year. The results revealed that children were able to identify certain types of FV more than others as the year went on. Taken together, findings from these studies showed that all three groups of stakeholders had a great deal of interest in school FV gardening and felt that FV gardens could be used to benefit children in a variety of ways, such as by promoting FV intake and wellbeing. In conclusion, the findings suggest that FV gardens are multi-faceted resources that could benefit children in a variety of ways and hold much promise as an effective public health intervention. Further research is needed to build on the positive findings generated from this thesis regarding FV gardens to better determine their efficaciousness.