Rachel Levy, Jean-Pierre Del Corso and François Seck Fall
The purpose of this study is to better understand how students of French agricultural education position themselves in the face of climate change and get involved in its fight.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to better understand how students of French agricultural education position themselves in the face of climate change and get involved in its fight.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a survey carried with 300 French students enrolled in the Brevet des Techniciens Supérieurs Agricoles class. A statistical analysis highlights the sensitivity of students to climate change and a simple econometric modelling examines the determinants of this sensibility. Finally, a qualitative study based on semi-directive interviews characterise the role of students as intermediaries of knowledge and innovative practices.
Findings
This study reveals that if the students ensure a function of intermediation inside rural where they act as true operators of institutional change, their role is less significant inside school and social networks.
Research limitations/implications
The analyses should be further developed by examining more precisely the place and roles of students in the creation and coordination of local collective structures acting for the defence of the climate.
Practical implications
The results show that the territories and the projects developed there can be relevant points of reference for introducing innovative teaching approaches to introduce climate change in the classroom.
Social implications
Young people’s commitment to the fight against climate change is strengthened by their concrete involvement in territorial development projects. Indeed, those territories specifically in rural areas appears as a space for innovation in environmental practices.
Originality/value
The originality of the study lies in its focus on the role of schools, living territories social networks as cultural spaces for shaping and transforming young people’s beliefs about climate change.
Details
Keywords
The geopolitical phenomenon commonly known as ‘France-Africa’ (Gourévitch 1997) is the fruit of the historical and political relations that France as a colonizing power has…
Abstract
The geopolitical phenomenon commonly known as ‘France-Africa’ (Gourévitch 1997) is the fruit of the historical and political relations that France as a colonizing power has maintained and continues to maintain to this day with its former colonies in Africa. Before the colonial period, Africa was originally made up of autonomous political entities (states).1 The current mapping of African states is the result of the European political will expressed at the Berlin Conference held from 15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885.2