Experiential, Social, Connectivist, or Transformative Learning? Farm Advisors and the Construction of Agroecological Knowledge

Chrysanthi Charatsari,Evagelos D Lioutas,Alex Koutsouris,Afroditi Papadaki-Klavdianou,Anastasios Michailidis

doi:10.3390/su14042426

Abstract

How do agronomists offering advisory support to farmers who practice agroecology construct agroecology-related knowledge, and how does experiential, social, and connectivist learning lead to knowledge creation and facilitate their personal and professional transformation? In this study, following a mixed research design, which combined thematic analysis and simultaneous regressions, and drawing on data from a sample of Greek farm advisors, we sought to answer these questions. Our analysis revealed that the engagement with the praxis of agroecology lays the basis for the development of advisors’ agroecological knowledge. This knowledge is then negotiated and socially reconstructed within the social fabric of agroecological communities. Connectivist knowledge, derived from multiple sources, is also validated within these communities. In its turn, agroecology-related knowledge leads advisors to alter their worldviews, thus transforming their professional and personal selves. These findings confirm that agroecological knowledge has both an experiential and a social dimension. Our results also disclose that advisors facilitate the osmosis of knowledge toward agroecological communities. From a theoretical point of view, our study highlights that by merging different learning theories, we can better depict how agroecological knowledge emerges and evolves.

Highlights

Introduction published maps and institutional affilAgroecology is based on a holistic view of the agroecosystem which emphasizes the various and often unpredictable interrelations between biotic and abiotic factors [1]
In this work, drawing upon different learning theories, we examine how agronomists who serve as advisors to agroecological farmers build agroecological knowledge, and we assess the degree to which different types of knowledge facilitate their personal and professional transformation
Independent samples t-tests revealed that gender did not affect advisors’ engagement with experiential, social, and connectivist learning, their reliance on scientific sources, their levels of agroecological knowledge, and the levels of the transformation they experience through practicing agroecology

Summary

Introduction

Agroecology is based on a holistic view of the agroecosystem which emphasizes the various and often unpredictable interrelations between biotic and abiotic factors [1]. There is consensus among scholars that agroecology is associated with positive environmental [2,3], economic [4,5], and social impacts [6]. The complexity, uniqueness, and continuous evolution of agroecosystems [7,8], along with the need to understand the interplay between the social and the environmental dimensions of agroecological systems [9], make agroecology one of the most knowledge-intensive forms of practicing agriculture [10,11]. Values, contextual information, and expert insights represent different aspects of knowledge [12].

Methods

Results

Conclusion