Growing Ideal Children in School Gardens : A Historical Discourse Analysis

The school garden has been reputed as a beneficial site for children’s learning. However, the school garden has also had negative consequences for children. Historically, the school garden has been used to control, contain, correct, and exploit children for adult gain under the guise of nature education. An analysis of educational texts written during 1890s- 1920s at the height of the school garden movement revealed adult agendas to use the school garden to save the innocent/evil child; create good, moral, future citizens; and recruit children to become producers of agricultural goods. These adult intentions for children were masked within the discourses which spoused the mutually beneficial relationship between children and their school garden. The natural and seemingly obvious pairing of children and nature provided the rationale to create obedient child citizens and labourers to fulfill social and political needs that have transcended into our present understandings of children and nature.