Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect a school gardening program can have on peer relations in an inclusive classroom, as well as investigate the effect of visual supports in the gardening program on the social behaviors of a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants included 16 6th-graders from a rural area in Gyeonggi-do, one of which was a student with ASD. A single-group pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the effect of the school gardening program on peer relations of the class. Additionally, a multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to evaluate the effect the visual supports in the school gardening program had on the social behavior of the student with ASD. The results were as follows. First, peer relations improved through the program. Second, visual supports in the program greatly improved the social behaviors of the student with ASD. Third, the improved social behaviors of the student with ASD was generalized in art activities immediately after the withdrawal of the intervention. Fourth, the improved social behaviors of the student with ASD were maintained three weeks after withdrawal of the intervention. This study is meaningful in that it used the school gardening program to improve students’ peer relations in the inclusive classroom, which has been static for nearly six years in both peer relations and class member changes. It is also significant that multiple visual supports for the student with ASD improved social behaviors.

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