The Kansas Wheat Farm Culture, and Implications for Guidance at the Kansas State College

Abstract

Educators are becoming increasingly aware of the necessity for scientific understanding of the individual students on their campuses. At the same time, they are attempting to formulate or revise the various educational philosophies of their respective institutions. Any attempt at solution of these two problems must cut across many allied sciences. An example of such cross-field work is the growing movement in psychology, cultural anthropology, and sociology to find a common ground in the area of personality. The author believes that the following is an initial application of the results of investigations in rural sociology to personnel procedures in a college. Studies such as this, when refined and increased in number, should aid the educator in understanding the students, and in formulating an educational philosophy to meet the students' needs. As a land-grant college, Kansas State has as one of its primary objectives technical instruction in agriculture, engineering and architecture, home economics, veterinary medicine, and the physical and biological sciences .... In addition to this, the College gives a broad general education, designed to fit its students for their social and political responsibilities and for exercise of judgment in their individual lives. (3:13, 1948) It is a responsibility of all members of the college faculty and a primary responsibility of one engaged in counseling and guidance to understand the cultural and psychological background of the student body so that they can better perform these objectives. This paper will analyze, in a descriptive way, the wheat-farm culture of Kansas, and draw from this analysis some implications for guidance at the State College. The author recognizes the limitations of such an attempt. Materials are limited to two studies of wheat communities, two texts in rural sociology and to the college catalogue itself. No attempt can or will be made to present a statistically valid study. The author recognizes that his implications for guidance will be in the nature of broad generalizations based upon small populations. Nevertheless, he feels there is value in such an attempt as a beginning stage in a link between knowledge of communities and populations and use of this knowledge by a state college.