Teaching and learning about agroecological transition in agricultural education: the example of alternatives to neonicotinoids

The 'neonicotinoid-free beetroot' national research and innovation plan (PNRI, 2020-2023) was an opportunity for agricultural technical education to test new ways of working with beetroot and to teach and learn about agroecological transitions with 'beet yellows' as a grounded, local problem. The authors describe an original system combining experimental farming practices on plots of land with teaching sequences challenging students'perceptions of the possibility of growing beet without neonicotinoids. They focus on a particularly fertile experiment, then draw transferable lessons from it, and finally put forward prospects for a grounded pedagogy.