Between complying and learning: experiences of rural youth in higher education during the pandemic

Abstract:

This article explores the rural youth condition during the Covid-19 pandemic, by recovering the voice and experiences of young students of the Sustainable Agricultural Innovation Engineering program at the Instituto Tecnológico Superior in the municipality of Cuquío, in Jalisco, México. The pandemic is presented as a phenomenon that accentuates the already existing inequalities in rural areas, making visible how young people have faced the challenges of sustaining education in a virtual way, challenging the deficiencies present in their families and communities. The students experience a decrease in their learning, however, they responded with their resources to the obligation to comply with school requirements despite the changing conditions, which is a sign that the rural youth condition is related to the circumstances experienced at a structural level from their intersubjective experiences in specific territories.

Keywords:
Rural youth; Pandemic; Higher education