Study abroad experiences serve to enrich students’ educational experiences, granted these programs must be evaluated to assess educational effectiveness. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine Nicaraguan students’ perceptions of agriculture and future aspirations, before and after engaging in a four-day agricultural -based program. Graphic elicitation and arts-based projective techniques served as metrics to assess students’ perceptions. Four major themes, with six sub-themes emerged from the data: a) perceptions of agriculture (i.e., previous agriculture); b) strength through unity (i.e., unity; and ripple effect); c) aspirations (i.e., importance of education); d) value of experience (i.e., learning new things; and thankfulness). Overall, the Nicaraguan students indicated the study abroad experience broadened their perspective of agriculture, having a direct impact on their career aspirations.

No abstract

Food insecurity in rural El Salvador has been a long-standing problem. This mixed-methods study explored rural farmers’ perceptions of their food security situation, identified critical food security needs, and examined farmers’ intentions to adopt measures to enhance their food security after an educational intervention to combat food insecurity in the area. For this community, the results reveal that access and utilization are the food security dimensions in which farmers perceive the most significant challenges. To mitigate these challenges, farmers participated in an educational intervention that addressed food and nutrition security issues, including household food production, food safety, and drinking water treatments. Postintervention results show an increase in farmers' intentions to adopt new food production, processing, and preparation practices that improve household food and nutrition security. However, the results highlight farmers' need for continuing education to fully address all food problems in the community

Youth is defined as a period of transition from childhood to adulthood that ranges between the ages of 15 and 24, and it is the most mobile social group in the world. Youth migration in El Salvador and Honduras is a well-known problem; however, limited research has studied the causes of migration and the impact of agricultural education programs on the decision to migrate. This study aims to identify and compare the migration intentions of students in agricultural and non-agricultural programs of two rural communities of El Salvador and Honduras. For this quantitative study, a two-group model was used, the target population (N = 209) was composed of high school students with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Overall, the comparison between El Salvador and Honduras showed a significant difference between countries regarding their migration intentions (p < 0.05). Salvadorian students presented a stronger willingness to migrate. Moreover, students’ intention of migration was evaluated based on their educational background. Youth who were not part of a formal agricultural program have a higher intention of migrating (p < 0.05). Finally, the main and interaction effects of intention to migrate, country of origin, and academic program based on the different migration drivers were analyzed.

Sub Saharan Africa is a region that has been struggling with food insecurity for decades. Though the percentage of undernourished people in the region has decreased over the last 25 years, the actual number of undernourished people increased by more than forty million. Combatting food insecurity in the region requires an arsenal of skills, knowledge, and abilities across a broad range of disciplines. One way to target food insecurity is through education and capacity building. The purpose of this study was to identify the courses and topics that should be included in a food security (FS) graduate certificate focused on Sub Saharan Africa. Identification of the topics and courses came from faculty and professionals working in the FS field in Sub Saharan Africa. A three-round Delphi technique was conducted to accomplish the purpose of the study with a total of 63 experts. Of the original 101 topics that the expert panel proposed in Round One, 80 reached the level of agreement. Researchers grouped the topics into 28 courses. The final result of the study was 24 courses that reached the level of agreement for determining the main topics and courses that should be included in a graduate certificate focused on FS for Sub Saharan Africa