The agri-food sector is, and for the foreseeable future will continue to be, a fundamental pillar of the Ecuadorian economy. With 28 percent of working youth between 18 and 29 years old active in agriculture alone, the sector is also a key employment destination for young people. Moreover, data show that the demand for students who graduate with a certificate in Agricultural Studies exceeds the supply. But while the agri-food sector is opportune and essential for Ecuador’s economic growth and has (self-)employment opportunities available across the country, many young people have other aspirations.
Quality, gender-responsive agricultural education and training play an important enabling role in motivating and skilling young men and women to pursue work in the agri-food sector. However, the emphasis on academic knowledge and the chalk-and-talk teaching practices that continue to be commonly used in secondary technical education are unsuccessful in terms of motivating and skilling learners and preparing them for changing demands in the economy. To change the tide, recent TVET sector policy reforms seek to address weaknesses in the professional development system for teachers and school leaders.
School leaders and teachers of secondary technical schools that offer Agricultural Studies provide effective, gender-responsive agriculture and entrepreneurship education, enabling learners to secure decent work in the agriculture sector.
- Ministry of Education (MinEduc)
- Universities
- Ministry of Agriculture
The ¡VAMOS! project aims to improve the quality of agriculture and entrepreneurship teaching – and, hence, learning – in Ecuador’s TVET schools that offer Agricultural Studies.
The project is built around 2 pillars:
- Improvement of the quality of teaching and learning by integrating innovative education solutions in the professional development system for the agriculture and entrepreneurship teachers and school leaders of schools that offer Agricultural Studies:
- Contextualising, testing, and piloting three innovative teaching practices – career talks, project-based learning for agri-entrepreneurship and work-based learning – together with teachers and universities.
- Forging three pathways for collaboration and alignment between schools and agri-food enterprises – role models, mentors, host enterprises.
- Integrating gender and sustainability in teaching practices and partnerships with the agri-food sector.
- Ensuring government uptake and sustainability by creating an enabling environment for scaling:
- Designing and piloting an effective, affordable model for blended continuous professional development (CPD) of school leaders, teacher leaders and teachers.
- Generating evidence to improve and support the education solutions and strengthen professional development.
- Developing and rolling out an action plan for scaling together with government partners.
By the end of the project:
- School leaders, teacher leaders and teachers of technical schools that offer Agricultural Studies provide effective and gender-responsive agriculture and entrepreneurship education in collaboration with agri-food enterprises.
- Through professional learning communities, the pedagogical counsellors (asesoría educativa) of the Ministry of Education build school leaders’ competencies for effective and gender-responsive agriculture and entrepreneurship education and for school-based CPD.
- Through MeCapacito, the online CPD platform of the Ministry of Education, universities and VVOB build teacher leaders’ and teachers’ competencies for effective and gender-responsive agriculture and entrepreneurship education and for school-based CPD.
- MinEduc and its strategic partners have put in place enabling conditions to scale quality CPD and forge systemic partnerships between technical education and the agri-food sector.
