THE EFFECT OF STUDENTS ATTITUDE ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE EDUCATION COURSE IN NIGERIA TERTIARY INSTITUTION ( A CASE STUDY OF IBB UNIVERSITY, LAPAI, NIGER STATE). A RESEARCH PROJECT MATERIAL ON EDUCATION
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
From a global perspective civilization began with agriculture, when our nomadic ancestors began to settle and grow their own food, human society was forever changed (Nova, 1996). Not only did villages, towns and cities begin to flourish, but so did knowledge, the arts and the technological sciences.
Agriculture has an immense impact to humanity in terms of global food supplies, hunger alleviation, economic development and provision of employment (Nova, 1996). Therefore agriculture can be considered to be a pillar for human survival and hence the importance of agriculture being taught at all levels of education.
In the U.S.A, formal programs in agricultural education are conducted at Agricultural education schools, community colleges and universities. As a vocational educational program, agricultural education focuses on three major components – formal classroom instruction, career experience programmes and leadership development. These components are delivered through a competency based curriculum in the context of agriculture in the USA (Lloyd and Osborne, 1988). Beyond the Agricultural education agriculture program, community colleges and universities provide excellent opportunities for students to specialize and gain skills and knowledge in agriculture (Williams and Dollisso, 1998).
Agriculture is the traditional foundation of Chinese society and China is facing a great challenge in restructuring its system to meet the needs of the market economy. The country‟s economic system is shifting from a centrally planned to a market–driven system (State Council, 1999). In particular agriculture education is playing an important role in preparing people for a new phase of rural development. According to Xiarong and Thomas (2002) China‟s economic reform movement proposed Agriculture curriculum and strategies to meet the needs of the new economic realities in Chinese agricultural education.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the agricultural sector is still the dominant provider of employment, and it remains crucial for economic growth. Moreover in most parts of Africa food security is still a critical issue and therefore food production will continue to be a major focus of agricultural education and training institutions (Vandenbosch, 2006).
In some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture has been introduced in general school curricula at Agricultural education education levels as a compulsory or as an optional subject. The rationale for offering agriculture to Agricultural education school students counter the apparent negative attitude to farming by many Agricultural education school students, whose occupational choices are often limited, and thus exposing them to the knowledge and skills that they would require in agricultural production, should they choose to become farmers (Abalu, 2001).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.