Agricultural High School Research Articles

農業高校生徒の消費者支援のための行動変容と生徒自身の食知識，食物選択行動，食環境づくりの向上との関連

A relationship was identified between the learning, knowledge and skills in providing school lunches for elementary and junior high school students and the improvement of food knowledge, food selection and food environmental setting of agricultural high school students.An agricultural high school, department of nutrition science at a university, and a school lunch center collaboratively developed an educational program. Twenty-five third-graders at a high school produced and presented tomatoes and cheese to the school lunch center which were used in school lunches provided to all elementary and junior high schools in Nayoro city. In addition, the high school students took classes and practical training on food characteristics, the process by which those foods are supplied to students as school lunches, and a balanced diet. The students then prepared school lunch newsletters which were destributed to all the schools.A before-and-after comparison with a self-answered questionnaire was used to evaluate the changes of consumer support and their knowledge, food selection, and food environmental setting in their own dietary habits. Changes in the two evaluation scores and the factors affecting these changes were analyzed. The level of consumer support of nine participants rose. The knowledge and food environmental setting of this elevated group were significantly improved. The effective factors of consumer support were indicators of their dietary habits. A relationship was therefore identified between the consumer support and improved food knowledge and food environmental setting of the agricultural high school students.

Iron Ore Mining in Australia A Resource Unit fr Fifth Form Geography 1994 Compiled by Susan Stirling, Fielding Agricultural High School

Iron Ore Mining in Australia A Resource Unit fr Fifth Form Geography 1994 Compiled by Susan Stirling, Fielding Agricultural High School

Impact on Attitude and Behaviors Related to School Lunch of Elementary Pupils and Junior High School Students through School Lunch Newsletter Prepared by Agricultural High School Students

Impact on Attitude and Behaviors Related to School Lunch of Elementary Pupils and Junior High School Students through School Lunch Newsletter Prepared by Agricultural High School Students

Comparison betweenKorean agricultural high school students' perceptionsand Japanese perceptions toward their school life

Comparison betweenKorean agricultural high school students' perceptionsand Japanese perceptions toward their school life

Problems Faced By High School Agricultural Education Teachers

If the agricultural education profession is going to grow and prosper in the 21st century, it will need an adequate supply of qualified teachers. In 2001, however, the number of qualified potential agricultural education teachers actually seeking employment as teachers fell far short of the net number of replacements needed.Two contributing factors include qualified potential teachers fail to accept employment in the profession and many beginning teachers fail to remain in the teaching profession.One way to improve the number of qualified agricultural education teachers is to reduce the number of teachers who leave the profession early through attrition.The purpose of this study was to identify problems faced by beginning and current teachers of agricultural education.The research revealed 20 problem areas experienced by beginning and current teachers. The categories included administrative support, discipline, class preparations, time management, paperwork, facilities/equipment, community support, self-confidence, developing a course of instruction, budgets/funding, the reputation of the previous teacher, faculty relationships, undergraduate preparation, student motivation, guidance counselors, enrollment numbers, balancing school and home, university relations, special needs students, multi-teacher issues, image of agricultural education, financial rewards, and changes in FFA and agriculture.

Development of Subjects and Educational Contents for Improvement of Agricultural Management Ability in the Self-management Agricultural Department Students of Agricultural High School

Development of Subjects and Educational Contents for Improvement of Agricultural Management Ability in the Self-management Agricultural Department Students of Agricultural High School

EVALUATION OF A LIVESTOCK ETHICS CURRICULUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a livestock ethics curriculum developed for high school students in Agricultural Education classes. The three hour curriculum was taught by Keli Brubaker to 305 students enrolled in eight Indiana High School Agriculture programs. Data were collected using a pre-test/post-test experimental design and both tests were administered by the researcher to ensure consistent and detailed instructions were given to students. The McNemar test in SPSS was used to evaluate pre-test/post-test responses. Participants increased their awareness and knowledge of the overall principles involved in making ethical choices when faced with decisions in youth livestock programs. Students improved their understanding of the consequences associated with making unethical choices when faced with decisions in the youth livestock program. Participants were better informed and thus, more likely to make an ethical choice when faced with a decision in the youth livestock program as a result of the case study analysis. The researchers concluded that a livestock ethics curriculum is beneficial for students in high school Agricultural Education classes. Additional research should be done to determine if students will make an ethical choice when faced with a decision in a real life situation.

Relationship between teaching competence and academic performance of high school agriculture teachers in Swaziland

No Abstract. UNISWA Research Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology Vol. 8(2) 2005: 103-107

“Safety for Agricultural Educators”

Safety for Agricultural Educators (SAGE) is a two-sided fact sheet on agricultural hazards that has been distributed by the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) to Northeastern high school agriculture educators over the past six years. It was intended to supplement and stimulate the teaching of safety principles in agricultural education classes and thus enhance the awareness and knowledge of young people working on farms. This paper describes an evaluation of SAGE's success at achieving these goals. Postal surveys from 29 teachers who had not previously received SAGE gathered data on class demographics and the amount of class time devoted to a variety of agricultural topics including tractor operation and agricultural health and safety. Teachers were asked to assess their students' awareness of safety and health issues and also to estimate the number of students working in the farm environment. Following a year of SAGE mailings, the same information was gathered from the 24/29 post-SAGE responders. Comparison of pre-post responses from the 24 matched responding educators showed: limited increase in the teachers' knowledge of basic agricultural safety information; a decline in the amount of class time devoted to health and safety; a marginal increase in estimated student awareness of health and safety and very little evidence of teacher awareness of SAGE as a safety resource. Most notable was the fact that only 8% of all students were currently working on a farm and teachers estimated that only 6% would be working on farms in five years.

Capitalizing on the human‐animal bond to teach ethics to youth

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a livestock ethics curriculum developed for high school students in agricultural education classes. The curriculum was developed in response to numerous unethical occurrences at major livestock shows in recent years. These have included drug violations, physical alteration of animals, and excessive involvement of professional livestock handlers. The curriculum was taught to 305 students enrolled in eight Indiana high school agriculture programs. Data were collected using a pretest and posttest. Eighty-six percent of participants improved their score from the pretest to the posttest. Participants increased their awareness and knowledge of the overall principles involved in making ethical choices when faced with decisions in youth livestock programs. Students improved their understanding of the consequences associated with making unethical choices when faced with decisions in the youth livestock program. Participants were more likely to make an ethical choice when faced with a scenario featuring an ethical dilemma. Participants who had previously been enrolled in 4-H, Future Farmers of America, or an animal project had higher scores than those who had not been previously enrolled, but the amount of change from pre- to posttest was similar for those with and without such prior exposure. Future research should examine whether mastery of this kind of ethics curriculum will lead to better ethical choices in real-life situations.

Sorgum x Sudanotu Melezi (Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum sudanense Mtapf.) Çeşitlerinde Hasat Zamanının Verim ve Verim Unsurlarına Etkisi / Yield and Yield Component of Forage Sorghum Hybrid (Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum sudanense Stapf.) as Influenced by Varieti

OZET : Bu arastirma, Van Ziraat Meslek Lisesi Arazisinde 1999 ve 2000 yillarinda yurutulmustur. Deneme, Bolunmus parseller deneme desenine gore 3 tekrarlamali olarak kurulmustur. Arastirmada 4 sorgum x sudanotu melez (Gozde–80, P–988, Grazer, Grass II) cesitlerinin verim ve verim unsurlarina 3 hasat zamani (tam ciceklenme, sut olum, hamur olum)’nin etkileri incelenmistir. Hasat zamaninin geciktirilmesiyle bitki boyu, yesil ot verimi, kuru ot verimi, ham protein verimi, sap orani ve salkim orani artmistir. Diger taraftan ham protein orani ve yaprak orani azalmistir. Hasadin hamur olum doneminde yapilmasi durumunda Gozde–80, P–988, Grazer ve Grass II cesitlerinde yesil ot verimi sirayla 4543, 5241, 5725 ve 5333 kg/da, kuru ot verimi sirasiyla 1615, 1783, 1739 ve 1749 kg/da, ham protein verimi 85.4, 98.3, 85.6 ve 84.4 kg/da olmustur. Anahtar Kelimeler : Sorgum, hasat zamani, cesit, verim Yield and Yield Component of Forage Sorghum Hybrid (Sorghum bicolor x Sorghum sudanense Stapf.) as Influenced by Varieties and Maturity ABSTRACT : This study was conducted at the field Van Agricultural High School in 1999 and 2000 years. Experimental design was split plot with three replications. In the experiment four sorghum cultivars (Gozde-80, P-988, Grazer and Grass II) were used and they were harvested at three maturity stages (completely booming, milk stages, dough stages). Plant height, green herbage yield, hay yield, stem ratio, panicle ratio, and crude protein yield increased from blooming stage to dough stage. While leaf ratio and crude protein ratio decreased. If sorghum cultivars harvested at dough stage, green yield, hay yield and crude protein yield of Gozde-80, P-988, Grazer and Grass II sorghum cultivars were 4543, 5241, 5725 and 5333 kg/da; 1615, 1783, 1739 and 1749 kg/da and 85.4, 98.3, 85.6 and 84.4 kg/da, respectively. Key Words : Sorghum, maturity stages, variety, yield.

Japanese Version Dual System and Significance of Agricultural High School

Japanese Version Dual System and Significance of Agricultural High School

Ekorozwój jedyną drogą polskiej wsi i rolnictwa

Limiting agricultural production with the use of industrial methods is in society's best interest. Industrial farms are places where the natural degradation of soil, rural landscapes, and ground waters takes place. They are also places where farm animals are mistreated and suffer. The crops, being high are, at the same time, of low quality, posing threat to people's and animals' health. The only agricultural managing system which complies with the idea of eco-development is ecological farming, whose initiators were: Dezydery Chłapowski at the beginning of the 9th century, officer, Napoleon's aide-de-camp as well as Rudolf Steiner from Austria, philosopher, theologian, and occultist at the beginning of the 20th century. Neither of them had agricultural education, both were active in the area now belonging to Poland (in Turew in Wielkopolska district and in Kobierzyce near Wroclaw respectively). Ecological farming based on family farms is a combination of ethical, ecological, and economic approaches. Not only does it provide the highest quality food and feeding stuff but it also helps protect the environment, fertilizes the soil, caters to good growth conditions of cultivated plants and animals, provides new jobs, and improves living conditions in rural areas.
 The ecological farm must make sure: there is a balance between plant and animal production, take care of the landscape, prevent and not only fight pests. Every ecological farmer's duty is a continuous struggle to increase the fertility of the soil. He should not misunderstand the aim or the methods of fertilizing so that he can deliver high-quality food which undergoes the system of control.
 There are about 2 000 certified ecological farms in Poland with an average area of 15 hectares, the total acreage being 50 000 ha. There are more than 20 ecological products processing plants (mills, bakeries, dairy plants, fruit, vegetables, and meat processing plants). There are 8 agricultural high schools where the rules of ecological farming are taught. Some schools run their own ecological farms and an experimental ecological farm is being prepared by the Warsaw University of Agriculture (SGGW). There are also 3 associations of ecological farmers and gardeners as well as 6 organizations that control and issue certificates to farms and processing plants. In the Ministry of Agriculture, there is the Department of Ecological Agriculture as well as the Ecological Farming Board.
 Ecological farms are used in medical and social therapy, play an important role in ecological education, and increasing people's awareness. It should be hoped that ecological farming, bringing much good and being based on the idea of sustainable development, will eventually become part of far-reaching plans concerning rural and agricultural development in Poland.

SOLUTIONS TO RECRUITMENT ISSUES OF HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Attracting and retaining quality students in agricultural education programs remains one of the most difficult problems faced by the profession. Much of the research that has been conducted addressing this problem has focused on the identification of obstacles to successful recruitment. This study focused on identifying solutions to those problems. Focus groups were organized in four states that had previously experienced enrollment declines, but have since rebounded. Eighteen issues were identified and solutions suggested to address each of those issues. Leading the list of issues were teacher quality and commitment, program quality, focus on production agriculture, perceived career opportunities, salary considerations, image of agriculture and the program, and availability of agriculture programs to students. Solutions focused on the preparation and hiring of quality teachers, adapting the curriculum to more accurately identify agriculture with science and technology, recruiting high quality students, providing meaningful activities and instruction, and promoting the agriculture program.

農業高校における農業教育の多元化と地域社会

In this paper I take up the agricultural high school that is concerned with both agriculture and education. Making reference to the case of Shonai Agricultural High School in Yamagata, I will discuss about the role that the agricultural high school and its agricultural education have been carrying out in a district. At first, I explain the change of the agricultural education in the agricultural high school from the today’s trend of agricultural newcomers after the graduation from the agricultural high school. Namely agricultural high school is changing its educational aim from training of independent farmer's education into multifold agricultural education. Moreover the social expectation is growing day by day that agricultural education needs to be useful to solve the problems of agriculture, environment, foods, and so on. Now a new connection between a community and agriculture comes about.

High School Agricultural Communications Competencies: A Natioinal Delphi Study

The major purpose of this study was to identify competencies that should be achieved by high school students who complete courses in agricultural communications. Identification of the competencies came from industry leaders, high school agricultural education teachers, and university faculty in agricultural communications. A three-round Delphi technique was the principal procedure used to conduct the study with a total of 75 individuals being asked to participate in round one. In the first round, the panel identified 11 topic areas that should be included in a high school agricultural communications course: (1) Writing; (2) Computer/Information Technology; (3) Agricultural Industry; (4) Communications History; (5) Professional Development; (6) Research/ Information Gathering; (7) Ethics; (8) Public Relations/Advertising/ Marketing; (9) Leadership Development; (10) Legislative Issues; and (11) Communication Skills. Resulting rounds produced 93 competencies within the 11 topic areas that were identified for potential inclusion in the high school curriculum. Of the 93 competencies, two were eliminated due to lack of agreement by the panel. Scholastic level ratings by the panel further reduced the number of competencies appropriate for high school students to 76 and categorized the remaining competencies according to appropriateness for introduction at the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior level.

The transtheoretical model of change in adolescents: Implications for injury prevention

Introduction: Many injury prevention interventions require changes in human behavior to reduce self-risk or risk to others. Promising injury prevention interventions may be discarded if they lack power to create a significant difference in outcomes when judging their ability to “move a person from nonaction or negative action to positive action (safety).” The transtheoretical model of change (TMC) allows greater sensitivity in detecting along the change process where an intervention may be effective. The stages of change consist of precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. Change is not viewed as an “all or none phenomenon.” Method: Use of the TMC was examined using a quasiexperimental, cross-over design involving high school agriculture students enrolled in 21 schools in Kentucky ( n=9), Iowa ( n=7), and Mississippi ( n=5). A series of physical and narrative simulations (safety training exercises) were developed with a focus on preventing amputation, spinal cord injury, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and noise-induced hearing loss. Contemplation and action, as part of the TMC, were measured using a 10-item, Likert-type, stages of change (SOC) instrument comprised of two subscales (reliability coefficients were .88 and .81, respectively). The final sample consisted of 790 students (373 treatment and 417 control). Results: There was a significant group effect for both contemplation, F(1,732)=197.4; p<.0001, and action, F(1,730)=106.1; p<.0001. A convenience sample of 29 of the participating students was selected for follow-up farm visits 1 year postparticipation. Of these students, 25 (86%) had made safety behavior changes in their farm work. Impact on Industry: The use of the TMC model can provide researchers with greater precision in examining intervention effectiveness in promoting change.

A Delphi Study Of Agricultural Teacher Perceptions Of Problems In Student Retention

The objective of the study was to identify the major problems facing high school agriculture teachers in retaining students for secondary agricultural education programs as identified by agriculture teachers. To accomplish this objective the Delphi technique of obtaining group consensus was employed. The study used a series of four mailed questionnaires. The first round of the study used a questionnaire with an open-ended question. In the second questionnaire, respondents were asked to rate the items identified in round one on a five-point Likert-type scale. In the third round panel members were asked to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with the statements from round two, and to provide comments if they could not agree with the summary findings. The fourth and final round produced concensus on ten of the statements from round three. The major problems identified by the Delphi technique in the successful retention of students in high school agricultural education programs were: scheduling difficulties, lack of guidance counselor support, the image of agriculture, increased graduation requirements, scheduling barriers created by college entrance requirements, competition from other school activities, block scheduling, the image of the local agriculture program, and the quality of the local agriculture instructor.

Problems In Recruiting Students Into Agricultural Education Programs: A Delphi Study Of Agriculture Teacher Perceptions

This national study used the Delphi technique to identify problems that secondary agriculture teachers experience in recruiting students in high school agriculture programs. The study used a series of four mailed questionnaires. The first round of the study used a questionnaire with an open-ended question to facilitate the generation of a wide array of response categories. In round two respondents were asked to rate the 28 problems identified in round one on a Likert-type scale and to make changes in the items as necessary. In rounds three and four respondents were sent the results from the previous round and asked to provide a dichotomous indication of whether or not they agreed or disagreed with each of the revised items. Consensus was reached in the fourth round. The major problems identified by the Delphi technique in the successful recruitment of students into agriculture programs were: scheduling difficulties, finding time to recruit, student involvement in other activities, access to students, competition from other programs, lack of guidance counselor support, increased graduation requirements, image of agriculture, lack of interest in agriculture, and block scheduling.

農業高校の今日的存在意義に関する一考察

農業高校の今日的存在意義に関する一考察