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When students feel connected to their school, they experience positive health and academic outcomes. In contrast, school disengagement is a predictor of dropout, delinquency, and substance use. School garden programming has the potential to help children achieve academic outcomes and feel connected to their school. Unfortunately, most school garden research has been conducted with white, affluent study participants. We describe the results of a secondary analysis utilizing data from an evaluation of a university-supported community school garden program (CSGP). Using a cross-sectional survey study design, we examined the impact of school garden programming in Title I schools on primarily Latino/a (Hispanic) elementary student self-reported learning and feelings of school connectedness by comparing students with [less than or equal to]1 year exposure to those with >1 year. Social cognitive theory formed the conceptual basis for the analysis. Duration of school garden exposure did not have a significant association with self-reported learning or feelings of school connectedness. Regardless of past exposure, fifth-grade students, females, and those who identify as Latino/a (Hispanic) felt that school garden programming improved their learning. Latino/a (Hispanic) students who participate in school garden programming may also feel a greater sense of connection to their teachers and peers at school. Qualitative results demonstrated that most students enjoyed spending time in the garden and indicated that participating in the program helped them learn new things and feel connected to their school. If individuals who may be disadvantaged because of systemic racism, such as Latino/a (Hispanic) students, can benefit from school garden programming, such interventions should be further investigated and prioritized.

Play is essential to learning and development in the early childhood years. Young children experiment with new skills through play, which supports the development of new competencies and furthers cognitive development. Nontraditional learning spaces such as teaching and learning gardens provide excellent opportunities for children to engage in purposeful play that supports their well-being, cognitive and identity development, and promotes positive emotional experiences. Self-determination theory, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology offer useful frameworks for understanding how play in school gardens can improve motivation and promote meaningful learning in the early childhood years and beyond. Benefits reported in the literature of incorporating school gardens into teaching and learning experiences include opportunities for learners to satisfy the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, increased positive emotions, opportunities to renew cognitive and emotional energies, and tangible evidence of efforts linked to initiative and industry of students who care for plants and animals in the garden. Recommendations include long-term planning for funding school garden programs and supporting teachers in incorporating purposeful play in the garden into learning.

The United States is divided into 15 broad ecological regions, each one home to a variety of fascinating native plants. In the Southwest, creosote bushes are found in and around the Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Sonoran deserts at elevations below 5,000 feet and is one of the oldest living things on Earth--approximately 11,700 years old. This evergreen plant secretes resins, which serve many purposes. The resins create a waxy coating on the leaf surface, limiting water loss and reducing transpiration. Indigenous communities such as the Tohono O'odham, Pueblo, and Navajo have inhabited Southwest deserts for centuries and have developed deep knowledge about the plants that coexist with them. Many have found creosote, or segai, to be useful for a variety of medicinal purposes (Nabhan 1985). It has antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties, making it a useful ingredient for a soothing salve. This article describes a lesson on salve-making using creosote plants that values indigenous knowledge and highlights sustainable harvesting practices.

When students feel connected to their school, they experience positive health and academic outcomes. In contrast, school disengagement is a predictor of dropout, delinquency, and substance use. School garden programming has the potential to help children achieve academic outcomes and feel connected to their school. Unfortunately, most school garden research has been conducted with white, affluent study participants. We describe the results of a secondary analysis utilizing data from an evaluation of a university-supported community school garden program (CSGP). Using a cross-sectional survey study design, we examined the impact of school garden programming in Title I schools on primarily Latino/a (Hispanic) elementary student self-reported learning and feelings of school connectedness by comparing students with ≤1 year exposure to those with >1 year. Social cognitive theory formed the conceptual basis for the analysis. Duration of school garden exposure did not have a significant association with self-reported learning or feelings of school connectedness. Regardless of past exposure, fifth-grade students, females, and those who identify as Latino/a (Hispanic) felt that school garden programming improved their learning. Latino/a (Hispanic) students who participate in school garden programming may also feel a greater sense of connection to their teachers and peers at school. Qualitative results demonstrated that most students enjoyed spending time in the garden and indicated that participating in the program helped them learn new things and feel connected to their school. If individuals who may be disadvantaged because of systemic racism, such as Latino/a (Hispanic) students, can benefit from school garden programming, such interventions should be further investigated and prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper explores the often-undervalued role of gender in transitional justice mechanisms and the importance of women's struggles and agency in that regard. We focus on the efforts of [...]

The article presents a response to David Prytherch's criticism regarding 'Human Geography Without Scale'. Prytherch rejects the idea that scale is an irredeemably chaotic concept and the poorly conceived hierarchies that transcendentalize sociospatial processes.

The Irish Gay and Lesbian Organization has since 1990 repeatedly applied for permission to march in New York City's St. Patrick's Day parade and continues to be denied by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America. This conflict suggests Irish identity in New York City is most severely contested over sexual identity when performed in a public space.

Urban geography pedagogy involves the study of globalization and urbanization by comprehending cultural flows, practices, and processes involved in global cities. Mumbai, Hong Kong, Lagos, Shanghai, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro are the peripheral cities that are regionally and internationally important with respect to the cultural processes and practices that occur in them.

The relationship between state and culture throughout the social sciences and humanities is explored. Janet Jakobsen and Rich van Deusen have participated to view the importance of reckoning with culture and space in the theoretical formulations about state making.

Consideration of the apparent absence of a new political geography is described to be simply a matter of fact. It is stated that political geography has lost control as other areas of the discipline have embraced it and moved with it in very different directions.

The transformation in theory, method and social theory of the urban geography was during the 1980s. The social theoretical influence that influence the graduate students and work on social and cultural issues are discussed.