Teachers’ perspectives on using school food gardens as a third space for sustainable livelihoods education

Despite growing advocacy for sustainability education, limited empirical research has explored teachers’ perspectives on the pedagogical use of school food gardens as structured learning spaces for sustainable livelihoods education. This study examined teachers’ views on the use of school food gardens as a third space that connects formal curriculum knowledge with learners’ lived experiences. Guided by a transformative paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative PALAR design. Six teachers from three schools in Hoedspruit, South Africa, participated in the study. Data were generated through photovoice, digital storytelling, and semi-structured interviews, and analysed thematically. The findings revealed that teachers conceptualised education for sustainable livelihoods as enabling employment creation, self-sufficiency, and meaningful contribution to home and community. School food gardens were perceived as transformative learning environments that support experiential and cross-disciplinary learning, ecological awareness, and practical skill development. These findings contribute to educational transformation by demonstrating how garden-based learning can reposition schools as sites of socio-economic empowerment and sustainability practice. The study recommends the formal integration of school food gardens into the curriculum, targeted teacher professional development, strengthened community partnerships, and equitable resourcing. The findings offer policy- and practice-relevant insights for embedding sustainability education within everyday teaching and learning in resource-constrained contexts.