U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska

 

ORCID IDs

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7177-3914

Date of this Version

2019

Citation

The Author(s) 2019

Comments

Journal of Adult and Continuing Education 2019, Vol. 25(1) 131–151

10.1177/1477971419840670 journals.sagepub.com/home/adu

Abstract

Agricultural and forestry advisers and other technical service providers play an important role in supporting farmers and foresters to adapt to climate change. However, not all agricultural and forestry advisers are comfortable talking about climate change with land managers. While there is a demonstrated interest related to climate related professional development, few examples of curricula developed with the express purpose of serving this audience and a systematic review of these curricula has not been conducted. To address this gap, we reviewed 12 curricula which were developed and implemented between 2001 and 2017. The goal of this review is to apply the lessons learned from a range of climate change-focused curricula to new, regionally or sector-specific educational programs targeting both agricultural advisers and innovative farmers. Our findings suggest that developers of future educational programs consider the following: (a) the specific needs of their audience, including topical interests and learning needs; (b) the use of interdisciplinary teams for curricula development; (c) trade-offs associated with inclusivity and depth of course content; and (d) the advantages of project-based education approaches suited for adult learning audiences. By applying these concepts to future curricula, these curricula are likely to have the greatest level of impact.

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