Using soil seed banks for ecological education in primary school

Abstract

In this study, we developed an educational programme using soil seed banks to promote ecological literacy among primary school‐aged children. The programme consisted of seven student activities, including sampling and setting soil seed banks around the school, watering, identifying seedlings, and making observations about the plants and their environments. Research was conducted in two urban elementary schools in Seoul, Korea with 99 fourth‐grade students, who were divided into two experimental groups that engaged in the soil seed bank programme and a control group that followed the official textbook‐based curriculum for studying lima bean seed growth. After participating in this programme, the level of student concepts about the relationship between plant distribution and the environment increased significantly in comparison with a control group (p<0.01), as did student knowledge about plants and plant ecology (p<0.01). In addition, the programme was associated with increases in eco‐centric attitudes among the students (p<0.01), including a shift toward more positive attitudes about plants. According to the participants, the programme better enabled students to recognise and observe temporal changes in plants and nature, providing one indication that their ecological sensibilities were augmented by the student activities in which they engaged. Both the participating students and the teachers leading the activities expressed a belief that the programme benefited the participating students, and that the activities were interesting and useful. This study showed that a programme of activities using soil seed banks and seedling emergence methods promoted ecological literacy by providing simple, hands‐on opportunities to experience and inquire about local plants and their environments.

Keywords:

• soil seed bank
• ecological literacy
• educational programme
• ecological education
• ecological sensibility

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Korean Federation of Science Education Societies in 2008, and the Brain Korea 21 Project of Seoul National University in 2008–2009.