Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the impact of utilizing the school garden on
grade 7 students' academic achievements and their perceptions of agriculture.
The researchers have adopted a quasi-experimental design to conduct the
study. The study sample consists of 52 male students selected from one basic
school in Al-Dakhylia Governorate. The sample is divided into two groups:
an experimental group of 26 students who are taught by utilizing the school
garden, and a control group of 26 students who are taught via the conventional
methods. To answer the research questions, the researchers have developed
a guide for the teacher who taught the experimental group, and the guide is
verified by a group of experts. The research employs two instruments: a science
achievement test that is administered and verified by a group of experts (its
reliability using test-retest method was =0.84), and a perception of agriculture
scale composed of 36 points is applied (its reliability coefficient Alfa Cronbach
was =0.76). The findings of the study reveal that there are statistically significant
differences in science achievement at α = 0.05 between experimental and
control group in favor of the experimental group. In addition, the results show
the effectiveness of school garden in correcting some of the wrong perceptions
about agriculture. Consequently, the study proposes several recommendations
that encourage teaching science using the school garden..