Experiential Farmer-Education Enigma: Unearthing Approaches Ugandan Educators Adopt in Contextualising Instruction

Overview & Synopsis

This paper describes how approaches espousing experiential education principles are adopted by farmer-educators to contextualise farmers' learning and achievement of innovative farming practices. The study used qualitative case study methods of interviews, observations, and document review. Through purposive sampling techniques, twelve farmer-educators were selected from Bududa district. The findings show how farmer-educators adopted place-based education, problem-based education, project-based education, and learning histories to enhance experiential learning of innovative farming practices among small-scale farmers. However, effective experiential education via the aforementioned approaches is hampered by a lack of funding, ineffective programme design, and insufficient professional competencies. The study gives a clearer understanding of how experiential educational approaches can be adopted to provoke farmers' critical reflection through connecting and corroborating past experiences to current scenarios for effective learning and adoption of innovative farming practices.