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EFI

Deliverables

Curriculum Toolkit User Guide. The Toolkit User Guide describes to users of the curriculum the underlying principles and values that drove curriculum development, and provides future teachers with instructions on how to optimally and effectively use the curriculum. It includes descriptions of both student and teacher expectations, and high-level goals. The guide explains the importance of a student centric and long term behavior change focused pedagogy as opposed to a banking model of education.

Agro-Entrepreneurship Curriculum. The integrated agricultural and entrepreneurial curriculum incorporates content aimed at promoting long-term behavioral changes for semi-literate learners in a student-centric environment. While each chapter covers production-unit specific content, all include learning activities, comprehensive case study, interactive activities, and suggested fieldwork. Successful completion of case study discussions and learning activities precludes the need for written learning assessments.

Mission

To educate the youth of Zambia out of poverty.

Challenge

To develop an agro-ecological curriculum for high school dropouts that integrates social entrepreneurship with sustainable agricultural practices and promotes long-term behavior change.

Research Activities

By holding content and design interviews with three local experts in agriculture, agro-business, and entrepreneurship, we developed a methodology for the curriculum and compiled the necessary technical knowledge. We augmented these conversations by reviewing and evaluating existing programs to gain insight into the best hands-on practices in agricultural and entrepreneurial education as well as curriculum format possibilities. Discussions with the Sisters deepened our understanding of Zambia’s semi-literate rural youth and their needs, available resources at the Learning Center, and the greater vision of the Emerging Farmers Initiative. Together these activities shed light on what was needed to effectively teach the sustainable operation of the Learning Center’s poultry house, piggery, fish pond, maize field, orchard, and vegetable garden.

Key Findings

  1. Teaching agro-entrepreneurial leadership requires flexibility and adaptability in curriculum design. Highly flexible curriculums allow teachers to adapt to the changing circumstances and timelines in agricultural operations. This open structure also lets teachers input their tacit, local knowledge more easily.
  2. Design with end-users rather than design for them. A co-creation/shared ownership approach in the curriculum design process facilitates a more seamless transition and implementation.
  3. Hands-on and verbal delivery. Experiential learning activities that avoid writing are favored to classroom-based instruction for purposes of engagement and learning retention when considering EFI’s semi-literate students.
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Team

2021

Social Enterprise:
EFI

Fellows:

Will Gagen
Environmental Studies, Religious Studies
LinkedIn

William Mockapetris
Political Science
LinkedIn