Agroecology and Education

The Agroecology and Education summaries showcase innovative educational approaches that combine hands-on farming experience with social and political awareness. From La Via Campesina's farmer schools to university programs, these studies demonstrate how agroecology education can prepare the next generation to transform food systems. The research emphasizes the importance of experiential learning, community engagement, and the integration of traditional farming knowledge with modern sustainable practices.
For more, read the eePRO blog post: Agroecology Education - Key Insights from the Field.
This article examines how agroecology education is evolving to create graduates who can tackle the complex environmental and social issues in agriculture. It highlights the importance of teaching students to work together and learn from a wide range of people, including farmers and activists, not just academics.
This article examines the opportunities and limitations of scaling up agroecology through formal education, using the LabVida school gardens program in Chiapas, Mexico as a case study. The research demonstrates how garden and food-system education can effectively leverage institutional resources to improve educational outcomes. Food and place-based learning proved to be an effective entry point for engaging educators with agroecological principles and practices.
This article looks at how teaching methods in agroecology have changed over the years. The researchers believe that a hands-on approach of having students work directly with farmers instead of just learning theory in classrooms helps them understand complex farming and food systems better. The teaching method involves students, teachers, and farmers all learning together.
This article looks at a new program that lets students work on real research projects with farmers and professors. The researchers found that students gained practical skills and also learned to think about farming issues from many different angles, considering not just science but also social and economic factors.
This paper looks at four agroecology education programs in Brazil and Spain that aim to promote food sovereignty. The researchers found that programs that are closely tied to social movements and food sovereignty networks are more likely to have a transformative approach, regardless of their institutional setting.
This paper looks at how peasant farming schools run by La Via Campesina are training a new generation of farmers to transform food systems and spread sustainable agriculture