Responding to the Popular Demand: Itinerary for the Socio-Political Learning of Situated Agroecologies in Chile (original) (raw)
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Innovations in Agroecology Education Main Text
Due to the complexity of agroecological studies and contexts, some agroecology educators are seeking to innovate in their pedagogical approach and course design. Through action research enquiries, 'action education' innovations are being developed which not only shift and explore new approaches to the learning process, they shift the relationships and dynamics between students and faculty, between learners and practitioners, between people and place. Action enquiry has revealed a 'learning-doing' gap that agroecology educators identify as an unintended consequence of lecture-based, and theory dominant, pedagogies. A critical stance to epistemological and ontological aspects of their approach would further enhance these innovative educational initiatives. Introduction: Context and Aims This paper emerges out of ongoing research into course design for agroecology education. It engages with questions of educational research, specifically with how course design, delivery and development can be undertaken in an area of pedagogy (agroecology education) which is challenged by conventional disciplinary boundaries on many levels. In this paper, I undertake a critical evaluation of published research on agroecology education, considering the methods, findings and contributions of these for other educators working in this field. My considerations are, however, not restricted to a critique of the published research. As a study contextualized in my own praxis (i.e. as one of the designers and faculty members of an MA in agroecology currently accepting students into its fourth cycle of enrolment), this paper will also include reflections from my own experience of designing and delivering agroecology education at Masters level, as well as some critical considerations of the implications of current research and innovation into agroecology education for other pedagogical contexts. There are thus several interrelated aims for this paper. One of these aims is to understand how new pedagogical approaches to agroecology education are being researched and developed, how courses are designed and delivered, and what factors have led to the development of novel approaches to education in this field. A second aim for this paper is to contribute to the broader field of agroecology education, through a secondary data analysis, those reflections and insights that arise from this critical appraisal of literature addressing innovative approaches in this field. My secondary analysis will, furthermore, include comparisons of our own MA with the selected research articles. We have our own rationale for designing an MA as we have done, and by comparing our approach to that of other educators we aim to keep improving the course for the students who enrol on it, for the faculty who teach on it and for other educators interested in researching innovative approaches to education in agroecology. A third aim for this critical review of research into innovative approaches to agroecology education is to briefly consider some of the findings that emerge from it for educators engaged in other educational contexts, i.e. for those not directly addressing agroecology but who might benefit from the insights and pedagogical approaches arising from this realm for consideration in their respective fields or disciplines.
AGROECOLOGICAL MARKETING AND TRAINING SPACES: LESSONS LEARNED AT UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DEL ECUADOR
Agroecological marketing spaces have expanded in the country, due to the importance that both consumers and producers are giving to this kind of production. However, the interaction that occurs between consumers and producers at fairs and how the latter become a pedagogical space for both of them has not been studied in depth. Therefore, the fair at Universidad Central del Ecuador was analyzed. Various research techniques were used, mainly interviews, surveys and bibliographic review on agroecology, agroecological markets, short agroecological networks and marketing. Two surveys were applied to consumers in the agro-ecological fair at Universidad Central del Ecuador. The first survey was applied to frequent consumers. The second one was applied to the same actors, once the fair was consolidated, to corroborate their preferences. This article aims to answer the following question: What have been the main lessons learned from the fair, as both a training and marketing a space for students, producers and consumers? The main conclusions show that the creation of the fair at Universidad Central represents an encounter between agroecology, education and social transformation within the academic curriculum, which also allows to identify the elements of environmental education that are implemented in the current educational project. It was also concluded that consumers prefer agroecological products for health reasons, since they consider these products are cleaner than conventional ones. Finally, regarding the challenges and limitations of the study, it is worth mentioning the need to compare similar experiences with other educational centers, to generate joint learning experiences about these fairs.
Situated agroecology: massification and reclaiming university programs in Venezuela
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 2019
Throughout the process of transformation since 1999 known as the Bolivarian Revolution, harsh class and food system contradictions have unfolded in Venezuela, pitting against one another the forces of the pervasive consumer culture favoring imported foods, the input-intensive Green Revolution agricultural model that represents a state-led push toward food selfsufficiency, and an emerging agroecological paradigm pushed forward by grassroots movements who have seized political openings through the largely supportive policy environment. The Bolivarian University of Venezuela, itself a product of the revolutionary process, founded the Program Degree in Agroecology (PDA) in 2004 to expand agroecological practices and knowledge, based on alternative pedagogical approaches. Over the next decade, over a thousand PDA graduates have come to occupy institutional spaces and productive projects in urban and rural areas, contributing to vertical and horizontal agroecological scaling. PDA graduates and educators play a key role in the growing movement of urban agriculture that confronts the economic crisis. The PDA has created key mediators in the form of human talent for territorializing agroecology and institutionalizing pro-peasant policy in Venezuela. As a political outlier, Venezuela is an important case for studying the strategies for territorializing what we refer to as socially committed, situated agroecology.
Teaching and Practices in Higher Education in Agroecology from the Interdisciplinary Viewpoint
This article considers the origins and historical evolution of agroecology and its connection with the multi and interdisciplinarity, highlighting the main theoretical concepts and their epistemological and methodological bases built by classical and postmodernist thinkers through their formulations on the themes, where, despite the diversified views, agroecology in a hegemonic way is pointed out as a science under construction that seeks alternative and sustainable models for the socioeconomic, cultural, environmental and ethical development of the farmer with respect to the environment. It also brings the discussion of agroecology and interdisciplinarity into the academy in undergraduate and graduate courses in agroecology, highlighting the importance of continuing education for teachers and students, with a view to building new approaches that recognize the importance of cultural diversity and exchanges between scientific and popular knowledge. Women are identified here as protagonists of advances in the transition from conventional to agroecological agriculture, either for their participation or for the struggles undertaken in the consolidation of this system, which, in addition to production, constitutes a way of life and work.
New challenges for education in agroecology
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 2018
Based on discussions in a workshop associated with the conference The Agroecological Imagination: A Franco-American Exchange, we synthesize the state of agroecological education. We focus on three central questions: the what, how, and who of agroecological education. What are the key competencies, skills, and attitudes for future agroecologists? How do we best teach and learn agroecology? Who the learners and teachers are and should be? With regard to the what, we offer the notion of the expert-generalist who has an expertise but is also trained in integrative and transdisciplinary thinking. With regard to the how, we emphasize the importance of experiential learning and action learning, or active experience, and process for content in context. With regard to the who, we discuss the centrality of recognizing the broad community of agroecology, and the importance of agroecological education reflecting that breadth.
Educational innovations in agroecology: Learning-centred open-ended cases
Acta fytotechnica et zootechnica, 2015
Open-ended cases present students with learning situations where a particular dilemma on the farm or in the community food system has not been resolved. With minimal but focused prior preparations, students interview farmers and food system stakeholders to build context for the case and to discover the philosophy, goals, and major challenges faced by clients. Student teams build a rich picture of the current reality, including major elements, interactions, and driving forces both internal and external. Instead of reaching prescriptive recommendations, students develop multiple potential future scenarios that could be used by stakeholders to resolve the situation, and evaluate a priori the most likely outcomes of following each scenario. These are presented back to the farmer or community, and a visioning session is held to bring all the players to the table and decide on the most constructive future course of action. We have found this method to be highly stimulating to students, as they work in a team with instructors and clients to plan a desirable future. Students report that the learning experience has been valuable to their subsequent thesis research as well as contributing to their effectiveness on jobs after the university.
Looking at Education in Agroecology in different Levels of Teaching: A Systematic Mapping
The growth of Agroecology courses at different levels is a reality in Brazil. This work presents a systematic mapping of the literature on the occurrence of Education in Agroecology at different levels of education in the country. For that it investigates the methodologies, the challenges, the contribuitions and where it has ocurred. 228 papers were identified and after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria defined in the study, 12 papers were analyzed. Among the results, it can be seen that the methodologies applied range from the implementation of technical, higher and postgraduate courses to extension projects involving the agroecologial theme. Such courses are present in all five Brazilian regions and one of the challenges is to change the concept in the field, from agribusiness to agroecological.
Agriculture and Human Values, 2018
This paper focuses on the centrality of permaculture design courses (PDCs) as the principal sociopolitical strategy of the permaculture community in Canada to transform local food production practices. Building on the work of Antonio Gramsci and political agroecology as a framework of analysis, we argue that permaculture instruction remains deeply embedded within market and colonial relations, which orients the pedagogy of permaculture trainings in such a way as to reproduce the basic elements of the colonial capitalist economy among its practitioners. In the specific case of eastern Ontario, this embeddedness had the effect of diluting the transformative capacity of permaculture practitioners who were unable to create its own social movement organization. The paper then highlights key elements of the agroecological pedagogy used by the Brazilian Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) and the Escola Latinoamericana de Agroecología (Latin American School of Agroecology, or ELAA) in Paraná, Brazil. The objective is to draw lessons from these inspiring experiences, in a rather unique context of struggles that can help to critically assess the pedagogical practices and principles presently informing permaculture communities in Canada and in advanced industrialized countries more generally. We then conclude by reiterating the key arguments and lessons drawn from the Brazilian pedagogical experiences, pointing out the importance of engagement and coalition-building with established rural and urban movements, as well as progressive farmer, Indigenous, and rural associations to foster a just and sustainable transformation of agri-food systems, starting at the local and regional levels. It also emphasizes the need for the most marginalized sectors to lead the way towards an agroecological transition.
Educational innovations in agroecology: Learning-centred open-ended cases. 2015
Open-ended cases present students with learning situations where a particular dilemma on the farm or in the community food system has not been resolved. With minimal but focused prior preparations, students interview farmers and food system stakeholders to build context for the case and to discover the philosophy, goals, and major challenges faced by clients. Student teams build a rich picture of the current reality, including major elements, interactions, and driving forces both internal and external. Instead of reaching prescriptive recommendations, students develop multiple potential future scenarios that could be used by stakeholders to resolve the situation, and evaluate a priori the most likely outcomes of following each scenario. These are presented back to the farmer or community, and a visioning session is held to bring all the players to the table and decide on the most constructive future course of action. We have found this method to be highly stimulating to students, as they work in a team with instructors and clients to plan a desirable future. Students report that the learning experience has been valuable to their subsequent thesis research as well as contributing to their effectiveness on jobs after the university.
2018
This research investigates how the Brazilian educational movement Educação do Campo’s (EdC) (education for and by the countryside) constructivist pedagogical method – the critical pedagogy of place – contributes to the upscaling of agroecology. The study is primarily based on data generated through ethnographic research conducted at an EdC school, the EFA-Puris in the Zona da Mata region of the state Minas Gerais. Fernandes (2009) argues that the tensions of power relations between the two main agricultural paradigms - agroecological and industrial – result in a contestation of territories. This research suggests that the EFA-Puris’ critical pedagogy of place is contesting both immaterial and material territories in favour of the agroecological agriculture. By raising the students’ critical consciousness and ecological literacy, they are encouraged to engage in organising and knowledge-sharing processes that are important for the upscaling of agroecology as both an agricultural paradigm and development model for the countryside. Despite the institutional advancements in Brazil for rural education, EdC still faces issues of funding and support from the government, which limits the extent to which territories can be contested.