From farmer to entrepreneur: transformative learning in the making of a new professional identity in EU agricultural workers. A case study

The case study refers to the outcomes of the UE Leonardo project TAS for Agriform addressed to a specific target of adult learners: agricultural farmers, over 50, who are compelled to become entrepreneurs in order to cope with the new market trends and UE regulations. Before acquiring new knowledge, competences, skills, farmers must develop a new understanding of their professional identity and activity with a radical change in goals, priorities,strategies. Therefore their professional development has to be supported by a transformative learning process focusing on the meaning perspectives used to frame professional experience. This has required a non formal educational process rooted into the needs and characteristics of the target, but also addressed to a deep change of the meaning perspectives used in work and living contexts. As the best conditions for Transformative Learning require learners to be put into challenging situations showing the inadequacy of pre-existing interpretative schemes, the project has requested the arrangement of learning contents and setting and the use of a TL methodology to activate critical reflection on professional practice in agricultural contexts.