Educational care farm offers dropouts perspective

The number of children not attending school for extended periods is increasing. Some of these children have serious socio-emotional problems, such as attention deficits, autism, or problematic home situations. ‘Schools cannot always offer these children the personal attention they require. And even special education may have too many stimuli for some students. As a result, they may spend as long as two years at home instead of in school’, says Jan Hassink of Wageningen University & Research. ‘An increasing number of parents approach care farms to ensure their children receive daycare. However, as care farms do not offer education, the children fall behind even further in their education. Hence, the idea of an educational care farm was born. A place where care and learning go hand in hand.’

Hassink and his colleagues investigated how educational care farms prevent students from dropping out of school and provide a better future perspective for high-risk students. They followed the progress made by 56 students at 11 educational care farms over a period of two years using questionnaires. They also interviewed 21 students, their parents and teachers. ‘The educational care farms offer a green environment and a pedagogic and didactic approach in which there is plenty of personal attention for the students’, Hassink says. The teaching staff is certified, and lessons are alternated with activities on the farm. ‘This reduces the students’ resistance and offers them some form of leisure which relaxes them, enabling teachers and care professionals to build trust. This forms the basis for them to operate within the students’ interests.’

Learning with animals on the care farm

Yvonne Wemmenhove is one of the care farmers who was monitored by the researchers. She manages the Care For You educational care farm in Bleskensgraaf in collaboration with SBO (special primary education) de Akker and SO (special needs education) de Rank. The facility has chickens, rabbits and dogs. ‘We work here three days a week in a small team consisting of a teacher, a teaching assistant and two care professionals. They teach eight primary school children. I assist where needed. The outdoor activities include the kids’ own vegetable garden. They make a seasonal plan and plant their own vegetables. Others care for the animals, buy the feed and calculate how much is needed. We seek activities that motivate the children.’

There is plenty of time for observation and talks during the chores. ‘We state what we see. For example: “I see you are grumpy and distracted. Want to tell me what is up?” Personal attention, alternated with outdoor activities and an environment with few stimuli, relaxes the children so they have room to learn. A little girl recently delivered a confident and passionate presentation on camera when she was asked what special needs education means. A magical moment. Every child is motivated to learn; it is up to us to find their on-switch together.’

Students gain self-confidence

Marc de Rijke confirms Yvonne’s observations. He teaches at the educational care farm Hartog near Purmerend. Earlier on in his career, he worked at the Martin Luther King School, a school for special needs education. There, he saw that a few students were repeatedly expelled from the classroom. To prevent dropouts, he started a class on the care farm. ‘The nine students are aged 13 to 16 and benefit from structure and personal attention. In addition to maths and languages, they are offered chores they can easily complete, such as weighing the feed for sheep or learning computer programming. The chores become more challenging over time. Seeing the students gain self-confidence is marvellous.’ Hassink also sees significant changes in the students. ‘Their executive functions, such as their ability to concentrate, improve. Moreover, their socioemotional issues are reduced during their time at the farm. This helps students learn.’

Hassink does, however, see some issues with regard to funding. ‘Some schools in Zuid-Holland and Noord-Holland deploy teaching staff on the farm. But sometimes, there is no real link with the schools because the children have been disenrolled. In such cases, it is the municipality that must pay the costs. However, budgets are sometimes tight, so a child can come only for two days a week and is forced to stay home the remaining three days.’ Yvonne Wemmenhove also has concerns over funding. She would like to see the funding system transformed into a educational care arrangement. Moreover, special needs education on farms deserves recognition, she feels. ‘That would create more stability, viability and financial security.’

Children eventually transition to different types of schooling. Not all return to the school they were enrolled in. In some cases, Hassink says, a fresh start is needed. ‘We continue to monitor the children that have participated in our study, even after their time at the farm. We hope to see whether the positive impact is preserved in the middle- and long-term. Recognition by municipalities and education partners is increasing thanks to the research results.’