Exploring Synergies between School-based Agricultural Extension and Experiential Learning in Rural Liberia

Most rural students in Sub-Saharan Africa work in agriculture. Our agenda aims to foster sustained improvements in learning by exploring pedagogical interventions associated with agricultural livelihoods. Using an RCT in 120 Liberian schools, this project explores synergies between two successful interventions: (1) school-based agricultural extension (SBAE), which reduces dropouts by 5 percentage points and absenteeism by 28% in Liberia, while substantially improving students’ and parents’ adoption of yield-improving technologies; (2) a general-skills curriculum that trains teachers to "Learn How to Learn" (LHTL) experientially, which increases student pass rates in the secondary school progression exam by 24 percentage points in Uganda, ranking among the top 5% of learning interventions. These interventions complement each other in making education more relevant and engaging to students. SBAE provides a platform for teachers and students to test and apply scientific knowledge on school farms and in home gardening projects, overcoming the lack of educational resources. LHTL strengthens teachers’ skills in study groups, enabling them to deconstruct and relate scientific knowledge to daily examples. We hypothesize this complementarity in pedagogy, along with improved student motivation and school attendance, will positively impact academic performance, especially in science and mathematics. Synergies also foster broader learning opportunities that contribute to the transformation of rural communities and enhance students' employability. Teachers and students with stronger scientific understanding can adapt experiments to their contexts, making agricultural extension responsive to local problems. Home projects and extra- curricular clubs in SBAE enable LHTL to project its impact beyond subject knowledge, strengthening students’ leadership, creativity, and agribusiness skills.