The feasibility of implementing a soil education framework in compulsory schools: a case study in Taiwan

• Soil connectivity can be achieved by integrating soil education into schools. • 5-week educational program gained students’ positive response. • Course objectives aligned with national curriculum to ensure feasibility. • Standardized plan and question-driven learning fostered the lesson. • Field-based and hands-on activities were designed to engage student interest. Soil security is built on society’s awareness, understanding, and involvement to promote soil governance and ecological resilience. Popularizing soil science literacy is a pivotal strategy to foster individuals’ realization and appreciation of soil resources. However, the soil science discipline is limited within Taiwan’s compulsory curricula. This paper outlines the development of soil education actions in Taiwan from 2018-2020. The soil watercolor campaign (2018) and soil observation campaign (2019) were initiated. In 2020, we targeted school-aged students and proposed a new framework for an external weekly soil education program, fitting the curricula standard. This five-topic framework, including soil observation, soil experiments, earthworms, soil fertility, and soil watercolor, was implemented for fifth-and sixth-grade public elementary and second-grade public junior high school students. 80.4% and 91.7% of elementary and junior high school participants, respectively, expressed enjoyment in their feedback demonstrates the feasibility of our framework procedure for incorporating soil science into compulsory education. The activity-based workshops, continuity and engagement of lessons, and question-driven learning may have been key strategies contributing to these positive outcomes. Our strategies, experiences, and reflections offer an explicit connectivity between school and soil education. This work illustrates the scaffolding for future interdisciplinary innovations and terroir-based adaptations to engage our future landowners’ and decision-makers’ interest in soils.