The main focus of this project, was to empower school principals towards re-imagining education towards sustainable livelihoods. It encompassed ecologies of learning through reflexive and ongoing transgressive co-engagements with education for sustainable development with community partners, through school culture change, teacher development and pedagogical transformations in classrooms. An established leadership intervention program based on a 70:20:10 model was set up with 4 school leaders and 4 business leaders who engaged in a year-long program that focused on the leadership of education for sustainable livelihoods.
This research project sought to develop school leaders and business leaders towards a process of repurposing education for sustainable livelihoods using the school food garden. The participatory nature of this research enabled the co-creation of action plans by Action Learning Sets that comprised, leaders, teachers, community members and unemployed youth.
The changes that resulted included:
The main lesson that this research project offers is summarised in the African idiom “it takes a village to raise a child.” Life success (within conceptions of sustainable livelihoods) and self-sufficiency in terms of food security are possible when schools and her resources (teachers, leaders and gardens) become part of community upliftment and where common purpose of education intersect with community values and aspirations of success.
If you’d like to know more, you can contact the project Principal Investigator here.