Abstract

It is widely recognized that education plays a key role in addressing current global challenges. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) combines local actions with global thinking. In Virtual School Garden Exchanges (VSGEs) primary and secondary students from the Global South and North interact and communicate digitally about their school gardens. This study focuses on educators’ expectations regarding learning outcomes of VSGEs and possible parallels with ESD and Virtual Exchanges (VEs) in general. A qualitative content analysis of 23 semi-structured interviews with educators engaged in 18 VSGEs was conducted. Even though the VSGEs took different individual approaches, the analysis revealed many commonalities in the respondents’ intentions: amongst other things, educators were aiming to promote knowledge about gardening and food, horticultural and cooperation competencies, and values such as solidarity. Nevertheless, some educators feared that VSGEs might also have some negative effects. The results show parallels with the aims of ESD and VEs.

摘要

人们普遍认识到，教育在应对当前的全球挑战方面发挥着关键作用。可持续发展教育 (ESD) 将地方行动与全球思维相结合。在虚拟学校花园交流 (VSGE) 中，来自全球南方和北方的中小学生就他们的学校花园进行数字化互动和交流。本研究侧重于教育者对 VSGE 学习成果的期望，以及与 ESD 和虚拟交流 (VE) 的总体可能相似之处。对从事 18 个 VSGE 的教育工作者的 23 次半结构化访谈进行了定性内容分析。尽管 VSGE 采取了不同的个人方法，但分析揭示了受访者意图的许多共同点：除其他外，教育工作者的目标是推广有关园艺和食品的知识，园艺和合作能力，以及团结等价值观。尽管如此，一些教育工作者担心 VSGE 也可能会产生一些负面影响。结果显示与 ESD 和 VE 的目标相似。