Transformative education in agroecology: student, teacher, and client involvement in colearning

Charles A Francis,Tor Arvid Breland,Geir Lieblein,Anna Marie Nicolaysen

doi:10.7764/ijanr.v47i3.2262

Abstract

Educational methods have evolved rapidly in agroecology, which is a complex and holistic field without a long history or the formal tradition of any single academic discipline. Definitions of agroecology have evolved from its initial conception as a marriage of agriculture with ecology, to an aggregation of different paths including science, practices, and movements, and recently as a broad appreciation of the ecology of food systems. In contrast with traditional courses that begin with a history of the discipline and review the contributions of early leaders, we have embraced phenomenology to firmly establish roots in students’ learning through their experiences interacting with farmers and practitioners in food systems. We have pursued close collaborations among students, teachers, farmers, processors, retailers, consumers, and government officials to build ownership of the learning process in a transdisciplinary education model. Working together in the learning landscape, we have codeveloped visions of sustainable systems for the future. As a team, we are searching for meaning and applications to help advance substantial changes in the production and consumption of food and more importantly, a transformation in thinking about educational alternatives. Our learning program’s focus is catalyzing the student journey by developing five competencies: observation, dialogue, participation, reflection, and visioning. Implementing the program requires fundamental changes towards colearning involving students, instructors, and stakeholders, plus modifications in the institutional environment. With well-focused skills and practice, our graduates are prepared to deal with a complex and unpredictable future, where many of the questions and challenges are yet to be discovered. By involving students and others in design, this becomes a process of empowering each participant to take responsibility for their education and preparing them for lifelong learning with the motivation to be an active and responsible agent of change.

Highlights

Practical and relevant education in farming and food systems becomes more urgent every day as the pressure to adopt high-input production methods and consolidate farmland into everlarger operations becomes the norm (MacDonald, Hoppe, & Newton, 2018)
We provide an overview of the context of an agroecology MSc course at Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), including experiences with students, instructors, and stakeholders over the past twenty years of the program
This paper describes how we arrived at using participatory colearning in the program, and the challenges and opportunities we see for students, teachers, and clients in farming and food systems to implement the transformation process

Summary

Introduction

Practical and relevant education in farming and food systems becomes more urgent every day as the pressure to adopt high-input production methods and consolidate farmland into everlarger operations becomes the norm (MacDonald, Hoppe, & Newton, 2018). When viewed through the lens of ecology, the negative emergent properties of industrial agriculture include changes towards larger fields and farms and the homogenization of practices and systems over extensive areas. Alternative approaches to this norm in farming, plus educational innovations to promote them that include close collaborations with stakeholders, have been developed and applied in our agroecology program in Norway (Lieblein, Breland, Francis, & Østergaard, 2012). Learning skills, gaining practice, and embracing colearning could inform a transformational strategy for students to learn through academic activities and prepare them for responsible action in future careers

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion