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

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  • Chrysanthi Charatsari

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
    School of Humanities, Hellenic Open University, 26335 Patras, Greece)

  • Evagelos D. Lioutas

    (Department of Supply Chain Management, International Hellenic University, 60100 Katerini, Greece
    School of Social Sciences, Hellenic Open University, 26335 Patras, Greece)

  • Afroditi Papadaki-Klavdianou

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Alex Koutsouris

    (Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece)

  • Anastasios Michailidis

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Chrysanthi Charatsari & Evagelos D. Lioutas & Afroditi Papadaki-Klavdianou & Alex Koutsouris & Anastasios Michailidis, 2022. "Experiential, Social, Connectivist, or Transformative Learning? Farm Advisors and the Construction of Agroecological Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:2426-:d:753912
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