Growing capable kids: Exploring the nexus between the Australian Curriculum’s general capabilities, global competencies, and one school garden program

Abstract

Many countries include core competencies in their educational curricula. The purpose of competencies is to ensure a holistic education that equips students with skills to flourish in the twenty-first century. Across the literature on this topic, however, there are limited studies that investigate how primary schools embed competencies into their learning programs. A qualitative case study of one Australian primary school with an established environmentally friendly garden program revealed how gardening as part of the school program provided opportunities for the development of core competencies, in particular the general capabilities of the Australian Curriculum.