Ending hunger and poverty requires investments in human and institutional capacity development for agricultural education and training. The World Bank recommends a focus on updating curricula, changing teaching practices, and increasing the number of all post-secondary graduates.[1] The updated curricula must be value chain-focused, and pedagogy must be learner-centered.
AET curricula must be responsive to value chain workforce needs. Demand-driven education and training prepares graduates for available jobs and ensures employer satisfaction with potential candidates. Teachers should use methods that encourage problem solving, critical thinking, and soft skills development in order to develop a workforce of active learners that are prepared to adapt as the climate or market changes—that have the confidence to be creative leaders, whether in the field, on the production line, or during community or business meetings. This approach to capacity development should be long-term and local, so that the educational pipeline will produce properly trained personnel in a sustained fashion as the market evolves.
InnovATE’s Work on Curriculum and Pedagogy
AET Systems/Institutional Assessments:
Thematic Studies:
- Degree Training and Curriculum Development to Support HICD
- Capacity Building for Agricultural Technical Vocational Educational and Training (ATVET) Programs in Developing Countries: A Case Study in Nicaragua
Concept Notes on Contemporary Challenges in AET:
- Developing the Capacity of Middle-Level Tertiary Education in Preparing and Nurturing Young Entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Review of Research and Practice for Youth Engagement in Agricultural Education and Training Systems
- Engaging Rural Youth in Entrepreneurship through Extracurricular and Co-curricular Systems
- Identifying Pathways Linking Agricultural Education, Training and Extension
- Brief: Identifying Pathways Linking Agricultural Education, Training and Extension
Good Practice Papers:
- Institutional Self-Assessment: A Tool for AET Program Improvement
- Place-based STEM Education
- Cooperative Learning
- Ensuring Education for the Girl Child: Best Practices in Menstrual Hygiene Management
- Elements of Reasoning Good Practice Paper
- ICT in Agriculture Good Practice Paper
- Leveraging Field Experiments for Student Learning Good Practice Paper
- Mentoring New Faculty Good Practice Paper
- Online Communities of Practice in AET Good Practice Paper
- Project-Based Learning for Student Engagement Good Practice Paper
- Strengthening University Capacity for Education in Agribusiness Management
Blog Series, Ag Educators Corner:
- For Agricultural Educators, From Agricultural Educators
- When in Doubt, Be Intentional
- Using Authentic Problems in the Classroom to Make Agriculture Come Alive
- Agriscience: The World is Our Classroom
- Agricultural Service Learning Connects Students and Communities
- Using On-Site Agricultural Facilities for Successful Learning Experiences
- Happy Campers: Growing Agricultural Leaders in the Community
- Preparing for the Future of Agriculture through Career Exploration
[1] World Bank. (2008). World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. Pg. 223. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2008/Resources/WDR_00_book.pdf