SYSTEMIC PRAXIS IN THE EDUCATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS PRACTITIONER

This paper describes the context and the systemic experiential theorie s that have informed the praxis of educating agricultural systems prac titioners. The praxis has involved a process of action research with s tudents and with clients in farming and other rural community organiza tions. The praxis encourages learners to bring a range of methodologie s of inquiry to bear upon problematic issues, contingent upon the natu re of such issues. Informed by a number of different theories, and by reflecting on our own work, an earlier model of a nested hierarchy of systems of inquiry has been reconstructed to become a more useful guid e to educational strategies: Each contingent methodology can now be se en to have its own learning, meta-learning, and epistemic learning dim ensions. A key to enriched learning for responsible changes in agricul ture and rural development lies in the facilitation of the consciousne ss of, and competency at, such a systemic pluralism of methodologies. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.