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

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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.