Education for Rural People: What have we learned?

Abstract

This article presents a synthesis of lessons learned since the launch of Education for Rural People (ERP) in 2002 under the leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations as part of the implementation process for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The ERP program originated from the global consensus on the importance of education in reducing poverty and concern over the development challenges presented by approximately 880 million illiterate youth and adults and approximately 130 million out-of-school children, many of whom are rural and female. The most important products of ERP to date have been the knowledge generated and disseminated, innovations identified, and lessons learned by ERP partners related to policy and practice in areas such as education quality and access, gender responsive learning environments, parent and community engagement, and accommodation of non-traditional learners, to name just a few. Tools to strengthen national capacities to advance ERP have been developed. A global repository of the knowledge base on ERP has been established at FAO and is accessible worldwide via the Internet. Partnerships have been forged to expedite and facilitate implementation. ERP is now widely acknowledged as a top priority in the international education agenda. But educating all rural people is a huge challenge, and much is still to be done considering the number of out-ofschool children living in rural areas. During this next phase, new investments will be needed at the national level. Preparing rural citizens to engage successfully in knowledge-based economies is central to the achievement of the MDGs.

Rural Community’s Participation Rate and Perceived Benefits in a Rural Area in Saudi Arabia

“…Some farmers stated that unsuitable schedule of extension events decreased their participation in extension activities (Altarawneh et al 2012). Acker and Gasperini (2008) reported a new set of knowledge and skills that rural people seek in extension programs. Skills regarding self-employment, food supply, and life skills became more popular among rural communities.…”

“…While some of the barriers are related to the program planning, other barriers related to extension agents' competencies. (Acker 2008) mentioned that lack of relevance, flexibility, and local input may negatively impact the local engagement with programs. Washburn et al (2017) indicated that the effective extension agent shout be a facilitator that helps clients to set and reach their learning goals.…”

Necesidades de formación para la enseñanza de la ciencia en docentes de la zona maya de México

“…Por lo anterior, se considera necesario explorar estas problemáticas a través de la ciencia y la práctica docente, pues diferentes estudios (Aranda, 2008;Cazaux, 2008;Aldana, 2012;Narro y Moctezuma, 2012;Díaz y Alemán, 2008) permiten constatar que la ciencia, la tecnología, la Artículos de investigación educación y, particularmente, la acción docente contribuyen al desarrollo social, cultural y, desde luego, educativo de las naciones, además de que la labor del docente puede representar una estrategia para combatir la pobreza (Acker y Gasperini, 2009).…”