THE USE OF THE SCHOOL GARDEN IN THE PRE-SCHOOL AND PRIMARY EDUCATION CENTRES IN THE CAMPIÑA MORÓN-MARCHENA (SEVILLA).

A VIEW FROM THE SCIENTIFIC COMPETENCE IN PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION.

Abstract

Currently, there is an increase in the number of centres that have a Garden area dedicated to students. Following this, it is necessary to go deeper into the understanding of gardens educational source, how are they used and what contents and learning strategies are applied in Pre-school Education. This paper aims to analyse the use of the garden by 13 schools in the Campiña de Morón and Marchena (Seville), from scientific competence. Data collection was collected from a survey using multiple choice and open questions validated by four experts allowing the gathering of qualitative and quantitative data for analysis. Results indicate that 30.6% of the educational contents are related to seeds and plants, and healthy living habits (11,1%). Moreover, 100% of the centres indicate that they use the garden to encourage observation, and less commonly to motivate discussions (30,8%) or argue conclusions (23,1%). Difficulties and a wide margin of improvement are evident in order to promote further the active participation of the student body and strategies based on educational research.