Sekundarni povzetek: |
In modern education, experiential learning plays an increasingly important role. The use of a school garden is one established form of experiential learning. Through it, children acquire natural science content more easily and sustainably, while it also holds much broader potential in education. In the initial theoretical part of the master's thesis, we presented the importance of school gardens in contemporary education. As an approach to experiential learning, it positions the student as an active participant in the learning process and focuses on their holistic development (Banjac et al., 2022). This yields positive effects on students' academic success, motivation, understanding of learning, development of independence, ecological awareness, psychophysical health, and social development (Graham et al., 2005; Kos and Jerman, 2019; Kos, Stradovnik and Torkar, 2022; Mann et al., 2022; Ranken et al., 2023; Skribe Dimec, 2014; Štemberger, 2012). Given that the idea of integrating nature as an integral part of children's education within the framework of curricula has a long history, we outlined the historical development of school gardens globally and in Slovenia. We discussed teaching in the school garden, the advantages of its use, and explored various associated challenges and potential solutions for overcoming them. Regarding the integration of the school garden as an element in implementing the natural science curriculum in primary school, we examined the curricula for the subjects »spoznavanje okolja« (Environmental Studies, grades 1-3) (Kolar et al., 2011) and »naravoslovje in tehnika« (Natural Science and Technology, grades 4-5) (Vodopivec et al., 2011) in detail. We highlighted the learning objectives that are directly and indirectly related to the use of the school garden. After 2000, the tradition of school gardens in Slovenia began to revive, based on modern insights from educational sciences, strongly supported by numerous movements, organizations, and programs (Ribarič, 2015). The most prominent among these, "Šolski ekovrtovi" (School Eco-gardens) and "Ekošola" (Eco-school), are presented in more detail. Finally, the theoretical part outlines recommendations for planning, establishing, and managing a school garden, and guidelines for preparing high-quality learning activities within the school garden project. The empirical part of the master's thesis focused on investigating and analyzing examples of good practice regarding school gardens in selected Slovenian primary schools. We used a qualitative method, more precisely a narrative reasearch methodology. We focused on four case studies of good practice involving individual school projects and analyzed them in detail. The findings indicated that successful school gardens are well-planned and involve collaboration among students, teachers, school staff, and parents throughout the process, although their success often relies heavily on the initiative of individual project mentors. Based on the analysis of these case studies, we identified key factors contributing to the success and sustainability of the school garden project and formulated guidelines for more frequent and higher-quality integration of regular teaching activities in the school garden. The discussion connects the analysis of the schools, in light of the research questions, with the findings of numerous other authors. The conclusion presents recommendations for schools aiming to establish a school garden and highlights the importance of further research and developing new management approaches. The aim of this master's thesis is to contribute to a better understanding of the role of school gardens in education and to offer evidence-based practical guidelines for their planning and implementation. |