"In green pastures": The impact of one school's gardening program on children's perceptions of God and Jesus
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Used by permission: the author(s).
Staff and Students of Avondale University may access Revealing Jesus in the learning environment: Evidence and impact from Avondale University Library (371.071/K55-2).
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Abstract
This chapter explores the metaphor of Christian educators as under-shepherds who both protect and nurture their students. Using current research, it identifies how learning in a garden setting nurtures students’ physical, intellectual, and social-emotional wellbeing.
Although spiritual benefits of outdoor learning are alluded to in the literature, there is limited empirical evidence to support a link between outdoor learning environments and spiritual questing. Based on responses gathered from students in a Christian primary school, this chapter presents a case study of how one school garden program helped shape children’s perceptions of God and Jesus as Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer.
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Christian, B. J., Ludlow, S., & Cameron, K. A. (2021). "In green pastures": The impact of one school's gardening program on children's perceptions of God and Jesus. In B. Christian, & P. Kilgour (Eds.), Revealing Jesus in the Learning Environment: Evidence and impact (pp. 59-82). Avondale Academic Press.