Farm work was the saving grace for lower secondary school pupils

‘The offer I got [at the farm] was the offer that got me through secondary school and made me want to have a future and move forward (…).’

These are the words of a former pupil who spent part of their time in lower secondary school in a farm-based educational programme instead of in the classroom.

“For several of the pupils, this was crucial in helping them complete school and make decisions about their future,” says researcher Siv Merete Kjenes Arnesen.

She has followed and interviewed 13 pupils, as well as 5 farmers and 13 school staff from various parts of Norway.

Need a break from the classroom

There are several reasons why lower secondary school can be challenging for many. 

Some face social or emotional difficulties. Others struggle with concentration, have low motivation for school, or face other challenges. 

These pupils may be offered the opportunity to participate in a so-called farm-school programme. 

“The challenges pupils face are varied. What they have in common is an inability to fully benefit from what the school offers. According to their teachers, they needed a break,” says Arnesen.

In a farm-school programme, pupils spend part of or whole days on the farm each week, often for a year or more. The rest of the school week, they attend regular school.

The teaching takes place in small groups and is tailored to individual needs and interests. Activities may include caring for animals and plants, cooking, forestry work, building, welding, using tools, and operating various machines and vehicles.

“They're given concrete tasks and have specific goals to work towards. This can also help them receive assessments in specific subjects,” she explains.

Arnesen has a background as a child welfare educator. She wanted to understand how both pupils and the participating adults from schools and farms view the programme. 

Experiences on the farm made school life easier

One thing quickly became clear: The motivation these pupils developed on the farm also impacted their school life. 

As one of the participants told Arnesen:

‘I primarily started [the programme on the farm] due to concentration problems. [It] helped to have a day like that every week, to calm down, learn new skills, and we covered so many different areas - I learned to weld, do repairs, and drive - and then people can figure out what they like. For me, it helped quite a lot with school.’

“As they practiced social skills and became more confident, they were able to be present in the classroom in a different way. This shows how motivation developed in one context can influence the motivation for learning in another context,” says Arnesen.

The time spent on the farm was crucial for the youth's personal development. There, they experienced the care and engagement of adult farmers, gained motivation to tackle new practical tasks, and became part of a community.

“Several of the pupils I spoke with highlighted the importance of how they were treated on the farm. They became part of a workplace, took on real tasks, and were trusted to do a lot. This differed from how they were treated as pupils during a typical school day,” she explains.

Helped them finish school and find a path forward

Pupils were first interviewed while in 9th or 10th grade. Then they were interviewed again two years later. 

Nine out of ten were now in vocational or academic secondary school programmes.

“The strong relationship with adults was highlighted as extremely important to them. Many said the programme helped them complete lower secondary school. They figured out what they wanted to study, and they changed as individuals,” says Arnesen.

Half of the pupils discovered their career path through the farm programme, while the others solidified their ideas about what they wanted to pursue further.

However, a farm stay is not for everyone.

“Pupils must have an interest in the tasks on the farm. It would be good to have more arenas that suit others better,” the researcher says. 

The need to expand lower secondary school boundaries

The Directorate for Education and Training refers to this type of programme as an alternative learning arena. 

However, farmers involved in the programme, according to Arnesen, find this term misleading:

“They prefer to see it not as an alternative, but as a supplement to regular schooling. The question is whether such arenas should be alternative offerings or whether schools should expand to include multiple arenas,” she says.

Arnesen sees a clear need for a broader and more practical school approach that better meets the diversity among students.

“In both my project and related research, there are clear signals from teachers, headteachers, parents, and others that there's a need for change in schools, especially at the lower secondary level. This could help reduce marginalisation and dropout rates among secondary school pupils. We can't afford to lose them along the way,” she says.

Reference:

Arnesen, S.M.K. 'Gården som alternativ læringsarena for elever på ungdomstrinnet' (The farm as an alternative learning arena for pupils at the lower-secondary school), Doctoral dissertation at the University of Agder, 2024.

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Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

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