RAPID: Impact of COVID-19 Disruptions on Education and Child Well-being

COVID-19 disrupted in-person education for many schools for an entire academic year. In addition, children missed opportunities to participate in non-traditional education initiatives outside of the classroom, an impact amplified for vulnerable students and families. This project evaluates school gardens pre- and post-COVID-19 as sites for supporting resilience of low-income minority communities at under-resourced schools. Previous research by the investigators has shown that school gardens produce positive social and academic outcomes. This project uses a quasi-experimental research design using to evaluate the emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal well-being of children aged seven to fourteen. Resilience measures include assessing a child's sense of purpose, authenticity, equanimity, self-reliance, and perseverance. These data are compared to resilience measures acquired from school garden programs that were in place for several years prior to pre-COVID-19. This project advances existing socio-spatial theory in geographical science by highlighting the positive, mediating effects of nature in the relationship between society and space for children.

A vast research literature spanning the social sciences illustrates that resilience is foundational to academic success and a productive and satisfying life. Resilience is often eroded by poverty through the shame, confusion, and anger that drive acting-out behaviors that can lead to troubled children and compromised adult lives. School gardens offer environments that support resilience in a child's ability to recognize their unique capacity and respond to life events positively. This study contributes new data on the impact that environmental disruptions in general have on child well-being.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.