The Roots of Tomorrow: A Framework for an Agrarian Resilience Curriculum

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Past and future of (material not just symbolic) decoloniality in curriculum

Abstract

Formal education in climate-vulnerable regions like NTT, Indonesia, often devalues local agrarian livelihoods, preparing students to leave rather than transform their communities. This paper challenges this paradigm by proposing the "Agrarian Resilience Curriculum" (ARC), a new conceptual framework for transformative education. The ARC framework is built on three pillars: 1) Ecological Attunement, which centers intergenerational indigenous knowledge; 2) Systems Thinking & Adaptive Science, which integrates modern tools for innovation; and 3) Socio-Economic Agency, which equips students for agri-preneurship and policy advocacy. This decolonial approach reframes rural education as a critical tool for building community resilience, offering a new vision for creating just and sustainable futures from the ground up.

Authors

• Ayu Fitriani, Universitas Nusa Cendana

• Muhammad Hilal Sudarbi, University of Groningen