EARTH University educational model: perspective on agricultural educational models for the twenty-first century

ABSTRACT

Institutions of higher education have an important role in preparing the professionals that society needs to confront the challenges of the twenty-first century. A transformation of traditional higher education models must occur to ensure the relevance and impact of university education for the individual and society. This can be achieved by taking a student-centered approach that encourages questions and criticisms and provides students with opportunities to discover knowledge through experience. Additionally, the doors of the university must remain open to students of diverse backgrounds to ensure that the benefits of advanced education permeate society. For the past 25 years, EARTH University – a private, not for profit, international university located in Costa Rica – has implemented an innovative educational model to accomplish its unique mission ‘to form leaders with ethical values to contribute to sustainable development and to construct a prosperous and just society’. The EARTH model focuses on four formative areas: scientific and technical knowledge, social and environmental awareness, ethics and values, and entrepreneurship. More than 2000 professionals from over 30 countries in the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Europe are graduates of the EARTH model with proven results. This article presents the EARTH case as a model for study.

KEYWORDS:

• Educational model
• EARTH University
• experiential learning
• values
• entrepreneurship

Introduction

A transformation of existing higher education programs in agriculture is required to address the needs of agriculture in the twenty-first century. Recognition of this fact is not new. Concern about the inadequacy of existing educational endeavors, including at the university level, prompted high-level discussions about this topic before the twentieth century had closed. One of these, the World Conference on Higher Education held in Paris in October 1998, produced the ‘World Declaration of Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century: Vision and Action and Framework for Priority Action for Change and Development in Higher Education’, which illustrated the need for change and outlined how to start heading in that direction. A new approach to higher education is vital to prepare a generation of leaders equipped with the awareness and skills required to address the issues that this new century presents (Kunkel and Skaggs 2001).

Several failures of the traditional model of agricultural education have come to light in recent years. For one, up until this point, the traditional method of agricultural education in many countries, specifically in Latin America, has been primarily theory-based and teaching has taken more of a focus than has learning (Viñas-Román 1999). A shift to a student-centered model, such as is employed at EARTH, will ensure that students integrate new understanding and develop best practices.

Secondly, for several consecutive decades, young peoples’ interest in a career in agriculture declined. Those who did pursue agriculture at the university level would very often work with the extension programs of the ministry of agriculture of his or her country. Accordingly, institutions of higher education in agriculture prepared students with a skill set to meet the demands of the sector they expected to serve. Nowadays, university graduates in agriculture expect to find work in the private sector and the need for enterprising individuals who will start their own projects is on the rise. This reality requires that graduates possess different skill sets than those of the past. Unfortunately, a gap exists between demand and supply as many universities have not evolved their educational models to account for the demands of today’s labor market and innovative sector. Additionally, high unemployment rates must indicate to universities the need to prepare not only job seekers but also, and above all, job creators (UNESCO 1999).

Another failure of current higher educational models lies in unequal access to a university education (World Declaration on Higher Education). College admissions tend to favor students of a privileged academic background who can score well on entrance exams. Young men and women with poor educational backgrounds who score lower on these exams are excluded from higher learning. When an aspiring college student not only scores low on the entrance exam but is also of low socio-economic status, he or she now faces a double barrier to access higher education.

Unfortunately, this measurement does not factor in the potential for success or vocation of the student candidate. In this context, the repercussions of exclusion can have implications for the entire community. In order to ensure greater equality in admissions to universities, a serious revision of the selection processes must be undertaken.

There is clearly a need to transform the predominating educational model. Looking forward to the next 20 years, the need for this transformation will be all the more necessary. How can this be achieved?

EARTH University educational model

For 25 years EARTH University – a private, not for profit, international university located in Costa Rica – has taken a unique approach to prepare leaders and agents of change in agriculture and the natural sciences for the twenty-first century. EARTH’s consolidated model is identified as a blueprint for other agricultural education and training institutions (Roberts 2016).

The idea for EARTH and its approach to agricultural and natural resources education arose in response to the identified need for agricultural and technical education in Central America during the 1980s’ Cold War conflict era (Zaglul 2010). Violence, poverty, and environmental devastation plagued the region and demanded a new approach to prepare professionals who would address these and other challenges. Costa Rica – as the only country in the region without any armed forces and with a strong history of democracy and public education – saw an opportunity to create a university that would do just this. An innovative educational model would be necessary to address the root causes of the issues affecting the region and promote its sustainable development. Thus, EARTH was born.

The EARTH educational model takes an integrated and holistic approach. It integrates agriculture and natural resource management, technical and scientific knowledge and skills, develops social and environmental awareness and commitment, attitudes and values for effective leadership, and an entrepreneurial mentality (EARTH University 2013). These closely interrelated competencies constitute the structural pillars of the EARTH curriculum.

Formative areas

Scientific and technical knowledge: This area consists of the knowledge, abilities, and skills that taken together give an EARTH graduate the technical competence required for the sustainable management of agriculture and natural resources. Development in this area is accomplished largely through active participation in the courses which comprise the formal plan of studies.

Social and environmental commitment and awareness: Developing students’ sense of social and environmental responsibility and strengthening their capacity as leaders to promote positive change is an essential part of the educational experience at EARTH. This takes place both in the classroom and in the field, through the participation and involvement of students in experiential activities with communities and social development projects, in diverse co-curricular activities, in institutional programs and projects, and as volunteers in local and regional projects.

Ethics and values: This area involves the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies that help students become effective leaders. Among these competencies are self-awareness, empathy, respect, tolerance, teamwork skills, effective communication, and becoming an autonomous, lifelong learner. This area also includes understanding and putting into practice values and attitudes that promote dialogue, peace, and understanding among people from differing backgrounds. This is accomplished in part by taking advantage of opportunities for dialogue, inside and outside the classroom, through participatory activities designed to inspire reflection, and the experience of living for four years in a multicultural environment. It is also accomplished through the formal plan of studies, in courses that include activities that deliberately encourage students to develop these abilities. Faculty and staff reinforce University values through role modeling. In this way, everyone at the institution contributes to the personal and professional development of the students.

Entrepreneurial mentality: This area involves helping students access the knowledge, skills, and experience required to successfully manage enterprises as well as to develop an entrepreneurial spirit. This is accomplished partially through the Entrepreneurial Projects course, a multi-year program that offers students the opportunity to conceive, develop, and implement a business, assume risks, and make responsible decisions in order to generate economically sound, socially and environmentally responsible products and services. Through this course, students develop the capacity to evaluate, plan, organize, administer, and take advantage of opportunities.

Experiential and student-centered learning

Equally as important as what students learn is how they learn it. Since its inception, experiential learning methodologies and a student-centered focus have been keystones of EARTH’s educational model. From their first days at the University, students gain valuable hands-on experience with the agricultural production system and explore the role that people play in that system. An ‘upside down’ approach allows students to live the social, technical, environmental, and entrepreneurial realities of agricultural production and link experiences with theory to construct and validate knowledge. It prepares them to enter their field as professionals who possess a clear understanding of existing needs and challenges and a practical and generalist tool kit for problem solving upon graduation.

A student-centered approach places the focus on student learning. Faculty facilitate student discovery processes. This differs from the traditional university model in which the professor is the subject expert and imparts knowledge to the student. Whereas classes in a traditional university setting take place principally in the classroom and are largely theoretical, in a transformative education context, learning also takes place beyond the walls of the classroom and even the University itself (Zaglul et al. 2015).

By the time that EARTH students graduate they are well prepared for a career in much more than what has traditionally been thought of as agriculture. Curriculum reviews ensure that the experiences and content of the students’ education remain relevant and anticipate the future needs of the field and society. Sustainability, clean energies, water and biodiversity management, environmental services, value added, and other related topics enter into the EARTH plan of studies. As a result, 94% of EARTH graduates report to be working in a field related to their study. Equipped with skills and knowledge of how to bring sustainable development to their communities, they return home eager to assume their role as leaders of change.

Other elements of the EARTH University educational model include exploring EARTH’s non-academic activities. For example, EARTH has a commercial branch that provides a living example of a successful, sustainable business right on campus. From its inception, EARTH took an innovative approach to commercial banana production in a bold step to demonstrate to its students and the banana industry the compatibility of responsible production and profitability. EARTH began progressive programs to manage wastes produced by the banana operation. These include: production of banana fiber paper, recycling of the plastic used in the field, the development of an innovative water filtration system in the packing plant, and the transformation of organic waste into natural fertilizer (Alfaro 2015). Apart from having become the norm in many commercial banana operations, these innovations have also been promoted by EARTH graduates around the world.

EARTH’s research initiatives offer other examples of how the University puts into practice what it teaches. Chagas is a lethal disease that affects 16 million Latin Americans, especially the poor, each year. EARTH University and its partners – the National Institute of Parasitology (Argentina), the University of Santiago (Chile), the Catholic University of the North, Antofagasta (Chile), National University of Costa Rica, the National Institute of Biodiversity (Costa Rica), the University of the Republic of Uruguay, the Center of Biophysical Sciences and Engineering and the University of Alabama (USA), and NASA – created the ChagaSpace Project to discover natural extracts from plant species of the humid tropics that block the enzymes of the parasite that provokes this illness, which can be found in many of the communities from which EARTH students come (Alfaro 2015).

EARTH University admission process

Another defining characteristic of the EARTH educational model is its admissions process. To truly address unequal access to higher education, EARTH faculty travel to remote, rural regions of the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa to seek out promising young leaders with a vocation for agriculture and natural resources management and a commitment to positively impact their communities upon graduation.

Unlike most universities, admittance to EARTH is not limited by an entrance exam or the capacity to pay tuition. In fact, to ensure that EARTH gives the opportunity to pursue a higher education to those with least access to it, 70% of EARTH students receive full scholarships. This intensive process yields good results; EARTH has an above average retention rate of 86%. EARTH students are motivated and through their experiences at the University they gain confidence and enthusiasm to take on projects back home.

Conclusion

In the face of pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges of our time, more and more universities are adopting certain approaches that resemble EARTH’s. Universities are increasingly recognizing the value of practical and entrepreneurial skills and promoting increased social and environmental awareness, in addition to the mastery of theoretical principles. In fact, the number of universities looking for inspiration in the EARTH model is increasing. For example, through EARTH’s involvement in the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for the Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA), several African universities – including Gulu and Makarere universities in Uganda, Egerton University in Kenya and LUANAR in Malawi, among others – have visited EARTH to learn about its model and see how it can be adapted to their own conditions. The shift toward a sustainable development pattern is already underway and EARTH is proud to be a part of this transformative process.

EARTH graduates are bringing sustainable development to their communities, transforming practices, and changing minds, all while redefining what ‘agriculture’ means. In 2015 EARTH University celebrated 25 years of illuminating lives through its innovative, participatory, and experiential model. Today more than ever EARTH’s educational model is seen as a vehicle for transforming higher education in agriculture. Universities have the distinct privilege and responsibility to prepare graduates to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. To do so, the university must be prepared to take on the challenges of this young century. Is what universities are teaching, and perhaps more importantly, HOW they are teaching today preparing the leaders of tomorrow? Now is the time to reflect on this and determine if agricultural universities are sharing the tools that the future leaders in agriculture need to create a world in which peace, justice, and prosperity prevail for all.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.