Agricultural Education Students Research Articles

French agricultural education students: “intermediaries” in the fight against climate change?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to better understand how students of French agricultural education position themselves in the face of climate change and get involved in its fight. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a survey carried with 300 French students enrolled in the Brevet des Techniciens Supérieurs Agricoles class. A statistical analysis highlights the sensitivity of students to climate change and a simple econometric modelling examines the determinants of this sensibility. Finally, a qualitative study based on semi-directive interviews characterise the role of students as intermediaries of knowledge and innovative practices. Findings This study reveals that if the students ensure a function of intermediation inside rural where they act as true operators of institutional change, their role is less significant inside school and social networks. Research limitations/implications The analyses should be further developed by examining more precisely the place and roles of students in the creation and coordination of local collective structures acting for the defence of the climate. Practical implications The results show that the territories and the projects developed there can be relevant points of reference for introducing innovative teaching approaches to introduce climate change in the classroom. Social implications Young people’s commitment to the fight against climate change is strengthened by their concrete involvement in territorial development projects. Indeed, those territories specifically in rural areas appears as a space for innovation in environmental practices. Originality/value The originality of the study lies in its focus on the role of schools, living territories social networks as cultural spaces for shaping and transforming young people’s beliefs about climate change.

ORGANISATIONAL AND PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFESSIONALLY ORIENTED STUDENT`S TRAINING OF HIGHER AGRICULTURAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

The relevance of the study is determined by the active processes of reforming higher education in Ukraine and current trends in language training of agricultural specialists, which stimulate the scientific and educational environment to improve and find new conditions for foreign language training. In this regard, the purpose of our scientific development is to determine the organisational and pedagogical conditions for foreign language vocationally oriented training of higher agricultural education students. To achieve this goal, we used a set of theoretical research methods to analyse, synthesise, generalise, compare and systematise theoretical data. After analysing the results of foreign and domestic studies, it is found that today there is no single approach to defining the content and quantitative component of organisational and pedagogical conditions. It is noted that the professional training of agricultural students has its own peculiarities, therefore, it provides for specific organisational and pedagogical conditions of foreign language vocationally oriented training. The paper defines the organisational and pedagogical conditions for the formation of readiness for foreign language professionally oriented communication as an integral system of factors that affect the effectiveness of mastering knowledge, skills and abilities. With the help of pedagogical conditions, an educational environment is created that promotes the creative development of students’ personalities and the formation of professional competence of the future agrarian. It has been observed that the process of foreign language vocationally oriented training is effective if the following organisational and pedagogical conditions are met during the training: ensuring the gradual formation of a stable internal motivation to learn a foreign language for professional purposes; directing the foreign language training of future agricultural specialists to the gradual accumulation of professional experience in foreign language vocationally oriented communication; creating an active educational and communicative environment taking into account the peculiarities of foreign language teaching.

Information Search Knowledge and Agricultural Education Students’ Use of Public Library in Cross River State, Nigeria

The study determined the influence of information search knowledge on agricultural education students’ use of public libraries in Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose, two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated. This study adopted a survey research design. All the 96 final year agricultural education students of the two public universities in Cross River State were purposely selected for the study. A validated questionnaire titled “Information Search Knowledge and Agricultural Education Students’ Use of the Library Questionnaire (ISKAESULQ) was used for data collection. This instrument was face and content validated by three experts. A reliability index of 0.81 was obtained for the questionnaire using Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient after a pilot test. All hypotheses were tested at .05 significance level using simple linear regression and independent t-test statistics. Findings revealed that knowledge of information sourcing significantly influences the use of libraries by agricultural education students in public universities and that there is no significant difference in the influence of knowledge of information sourcing on male and female agricultural education students’ use of public libraries. Based on the findings, it was recommended amongst others that information search knowledge and literacy should be included in the course outline for use in library, and taught as a course in tertiary institutions, as this would ensure that students including those in Agricultural Education have the necessary knowledge needed to source and search for key information in the library

Involvement of urban agricultural education students in FFA activities and opportunities

Students in large cities across the United States can better understand agriculture through their involvement in School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE). Since the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917, Agricultural Education has been a pathway that encourages students to continue schooling and connect with future careers. We conducted a descriptive study to explore the involvement of 2021-2022 high school Agricultural Education students in the National FFA Organization. Involvement was calculated through self-reported participation in chapter activities, officer positions, FFA degrees, and contests or events. Additionally, the study evaluated students’ curiosity toward stretching or embracing as well as their overall adaptability in different situations. The study occurred in the fall of 2021 with 543 respondents from 18 urban SBAE programs in 12 states completing the online survey. Respondents reported self-perceived moderate curiosity, very strong adaptability, and light involvement in FFA. For urban SBAE students, involvement in FFA was not affected by demographics other than those in the 12th grade were more involved. This could imply study respondents who see the value in the organization’s leadership training or college and career readiness are the most curious and adaptable toward being involved in the organization.

Psychological intervention for career self-esteem among students of agricultural education programme.

This study determined the efficacy of rational career intervention on career self-esteem of students of Agricultural education programmed in Universities in Southeast Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample of 54 students. The sampled students were allocated to 2 (treatment and control) groups using the sequence allocation software package. Students in the treatment group were counseled through a rational career intervention programmed that lasted for 12 sessions while similar students in the control group were not treated. The 2 groups of students were then assessed 3 times based on a career self-esteem scale. Data collected were analyzed using Analysis of variance and partial eta square statistical tools. The study's findings indicated a strong impact of rational career intervention on career self-esteem levels. The findings also showed that group and gender interaction effects had a substantial impact on the professional self-esteem scores of students in agricultural education. The findings also indicated a statistically significant relationship between time and students career self-esteem in agricultural education. The findings also showed that the group and time interaction effect had a substantial impact on the professional self-esteem scores of students in agricultural education. The follow-up findings showed that the rational career intervention has a long-term impact on career self-esteem among students in Agricultural Education. It was concluded that rational career intervention is useful in improving self-esteem among students of agricultural education in universities in Southeast Nigeria. It was then recommended that year-1 students should be counseled immediately after registration.

Entrepreneurship Skills Required by Youths for Effective Participation in Honey Production Occupation in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study examined the entrepreneurship skills required by youths for effective participation in the honey production occupation in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The population for the study, comprised 150 respondents, comprising 70 male and 80 female students of the agricultural education unit in the Department of Vocational and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria from the four different levels viz: 100, 200, 300 and 400 in the 2018/2019 session. The instrument for data collection was a 54-item structured questionnaire on a 4-point rating scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD) with corresponding numerical values of 4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively. The instrument was face-validated by three experts and the Cronbach alpha reliability method was used which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.62. The data collected were analyzed using weighted mean score while t-test statistics was used for testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study identified eleven apiculture planning skills, sixteen apiculture management skills, ten preparatory skills for harvesting honey and eleven honey processing skills. There was no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female students of agricultural education on the entrepreneurship skills required by youths for honey production occupation. Based on the findings, the study recommends, among others, that trainers should redouble their efforts to equip learners with entrepreneurship skills in apiculture enterprise. Also, government should intensify campaigns to encourage youths into honey production occupation.

Students’ Perceptions on the Effect of COVID 19 on Agricultural Higher Education in India

The study analysed the temporal changes in the perceptions of students of agricultural higher education due to disruption of the COVID 19 pandemic and recommends strategies to deal with it. An online survey was conducted involving students of agricultural higher education at two intervals to capture their perceptions on the academic, physical, and psychological disruptions due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Among these three aspects, changes in behavioural aspects are signifi cant over time, which is refl ected in terms of viz., attitude, frustration, anxiety, depression, uncertainty, desire for cocooning and boredom. Students showed a positive response towards continuing educational activities through online and e-learning modes. Adapting to new normal necessitated extensive use of digital technologies in education that challenged the face to face instructions, approaches to learning and assessment. Counselling and mentoring of students are found mandatory in pandemics. The development of a sustainable digital ecosystem of learning with equal weightage on students' physical and psychological well-being is needed. New approaches of learning are to evolve due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Science Citizenship through Secondary Agricultural Education

Global society has major scientific challenges to solve over the coming decades including climate change and food insecurity. Considering school-based agricultural education can play an important role in developing scientifically literate and civically engaged citizens to help address these challenges, this study sought to describe and compare Pennsylvania agricultural education students’ science literacy, civic engagement, and science citizenship. In addition, the purpose of this study was to determine which variables of science literacy and civic engagement best predicted students’ science citizenship. Using a descriptive-correlational research design, the study utilized a questionnaire adapted from three existing instruments to measure science literacy, civic engagement, and science citizenship. Data was collected from a proportionate stratified random sample of Pennsylvania agricultural education programs for a total of (n = 197) students. The multiple linear regression model was found to be a significant predictor of students’ science citizenship and explained 57.8% of the variance. Civic skills efficacy, civic participation, value of science, science skills, and civic duty were significant predictors of students’ science citizenship. Recommendations from results include incorporating civic education that builds students civic skills into agricultural education curriculum, educating pre-service agriculture teachers how to incorporate civic engagement into their programs, and further research to determine the extent to which agriculture teachers currently support students’ civic engagement in their programs.

Competencies in Edible Insects Production for Training of Vocational Agricultural Education Students in Kogi State

In an effort to meet up with animal nutrient shortfall and ever increasing human populacewhile managing the attendant health challenges of meat consumption, various unconventional sources of nutrients, exceptionally micro-livestock, has been recommended to form integral part of the nation’s traditional farming system and consumption. Therefore, thefarming and consumption of edible insects are seen as an essential tool in improving the animal nutrient supply in the country.This study therefore aimed at identifying the competencies required in the production of edible insects to train the students of Vocational Agricultural Education (VAE) for considerable economic empowerment post graduation. Thisstudy adopted a survey research design implemented on a population of 104 respondents. It was found that VAE students required all the competencies identified in the entomological literacy, housing, planning, and maintenance of edible insects for economic empowerment psotgraduation. The finding of the test of hypotheses showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the respondents’ mean responses on the entomological literacy, housing, planning, and maintenance competencies needed in the production of edible insects. From this findings, it was therefore recommended that all the identified competencies of edible insect production be applied in the training of VAE students.

Socio-demographic Background and Career Consciousness of Students in Agricultural Higher Education in Eastern Hungary

Abstract In this study, we compare the socio-demographic background of Hungarian higher education students in the field of agriculture with that of students in other fields, and we also examine students’ career consciousness based on data from a large-sample survey conducted in Eastern Hungary in 2019. We found that in the field of agriculture 63.6% of the students were male and 64. 8% came from smaller settlements, which may be explained by the nature of the agricultural field. Regarding career consciousness, we found that while agricultural students come to higher education with the hope of obtaining a well-paying, high-prestige job, they usually do not engage in career-oriented activities and achievements during their studies.

Agrarianism in Agricultural Education: A Narrative Study

Agriculturalists can be divided into broad ideological camps with differing value sets. While many different groups exist, there are two primary ideological groups: (1) conventional or agrarian populists and (2) non-conventional or neo-agrarians. Agricultural education students’ values about agriculture shape how they will work in their future classrooms, schools, and communities, as well as how they will interact with students and community members. The purpose of this narrative study was to describe undergraduate agricultural education students’ conceptualization of their values about agriculture. The findings from this study highlighted the polarization of ideologies in American agriculture. The agricultural education students’ conceptualization of agricultural values was largely conventional. Some students formed conventional agriculture values as they grew up, while other students experienced a change of their values towards conventional attitudes while in college. Students’ responses to others with differing values ranged from indifferent to negative. These differences indicate a real challenge for post-secondary agricultural educators. Students have the right to maintain their own values in agriculture, however they must be able to work with others who have differing values. Research is needed to evaluate effective ways to help students learn how to work with people who have differing agricultural values.

Pattern of human resource development in Indian agricultural universities

Agriculture is the primary sector of Indian economy contributing substantially towards GDP of the country. Qualified and quality human resources contribute significantly towards agricultural sector in the economy. The present study (2021) attempts to analyze the human resource development in terms of enrollment pattern of students in undergraduate (UG) course of agriculture and allied sciences and reflects on evolving strategies for attracting talented students in this sector. Present study shows that there is a close correlation with State Value of Output in agricultural sector and number of students enrolled in higher agricultural and allied studies. Presently, there are 74 agricultural universities (AUs) under the National Agricultural Research Education System and the present study attempts to analyze the student enrollment patterns of under-graduate students in agricultural universities of India for meeting the scientific manpower needs towards achieving targeted agricultural growth. Five years of enrollment data (2015–20) across AUs was considered. Human resource development in terms of enrolment in the higher agricultural education of agricultural universities is quite low when compared to enrolment of students overall in higher education and pattern of enrollment of girls varied in different regions of the country. This study has brought out an important aspect linked to higher agricultural education that the State Value of Output in agriculture has a positive association with enrollment of the students in higher agricultural education from the state in agricultural sector. It is important to assess the future human resource needs for the various sub-sectors of agriculture.

Meeting the Needs of Gifted and Talented Students in Agricultural Education: An Exploratory Study

Agriculture teachers are responsible for the education of a mixed ability classroom, in which there may be students identified as gifted. It is unclear how much preservice preparation agriculture teachers receive in order to challenge this population of students or what inservice teacher professional development needs exist. This study aimed to measure agriculture teacher attitudes toward working with gifted students as well as their preservice teacher preparation and current professional development needs. Just over half of participants that completed a traditional teacher preparation program felt adequately prepared to meet the needs of gifted students in their classrooms. Agriculture teachers mostly agreed that students should be challenged, gifted students are a valuable part of their classroom, and that differentiating for gifted students is important. Responding teachers mostly disagreed that their content knowledge is challenged, gifted students are bored in their classrooms, and that they feel threatened by the intelligence of gifted students in their class. Professional development is needed in creating challenging classroom content, differentiating instruction and teaching problem-solving skills to gifted agriculture students.

Determinants of entrepreneurial alertness: towards sustainable agribusiness development

PurposeEntrepreneurship is known to be important to the economy, and many scholars across the globe have researched it from a number of viewpoints. Currently, there is a need for an academic study to explore this area by combining sustainability value creating practices and the efforts of current entrepreneurs towards the said target, particularly in the case of the agricultural sector. While the entrepreneurship studies have mostly focused on the determinants of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, few studies have attempted to analyze the factors influencing the entrepreneurial alertness (EA) of students, especially in relation to agricultural students. To fill this gap, this work investigated the impact of human and social capital on EA among the students of agricultural higher education in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThe sample consisted of 254 agricultural students in higher education from Ilam province in the Islamic Republic of Iran, selected by the stratified random sampling method for the study. Modeling of structural equations was used in inferential statistics.FindingsAccording to the results of the trial, human resources and social capital (SC) have been seen to have a strong, optimistic and measurable impact on EA. Key findings also show that human capital (HC) has an indirect, optimistic and important effect on EA through the mediator role of SC. Establishing higher education science teams, groups, networks and associations can foster opportunities to create and develop relationships and communication between agricultural students and entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThese findings illustrate the value of human and social resources in fostering entrepreneurship alertness among Iranian students of agricultural higher education. Considering the research results, the authors recommend some theoretical and realistic implications and suggestions for ways of promoting and increasing EA among farm students to encourage sustainable growth of agricultural careers in western Iran.

Graduate employability skills: The voice of Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) students in Zimbabwe

The graduate employability has seen most governments, institutions of higher learning and industries engaging each other, as industries feel universities and colleges are churning out graduates that are not work ready. This has led to many strands to the discourse of graduate employability. One strand of the discourse is whether the higher education institutions should produce work-ready graduates. Another strand of the discourse is on how these institutions can make their graduates work ready, if it is an expectation that the graduates should be work ready. There is also another strand of the discourse on what constitutes graduate employability, that is, what skills make graduates work ready. This article looks at the latter from the perspectives of Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) students in Zimbabwe. The article reports on part of a major study that was conducted on student internship and employability. Data was collected through focus group discussions with final year students from three agricultural colleges, that were selected using an eclectic sampling strategy which incorporated both typical case and maximal variation. The study showed that students view soft skills, namely entrepreneurship, financial literacy, innovativeness, ethics, problem-solving, honesty and some technical skills as essential to them.

Irrational career beliefs in agricultural education students, demographics, impacts, and rational career education intervention.

Background:Studies have shown that a good number of students admitted into Agricultural Science Education program in Nigerian universities exhibit irrational career interest which affects their perceptions, feelings, and academic behaviors. This study, therefore, explored the effect of rational emotive career education on irrational career beliefs among students enrolled in agricultural education program in federal universities in Enugu state. Three null hypotheses guided the study.Method:Of the population (N = 79 students) targeted for the study and who underwent a screening exercise, 61 students were recruited as participants/sample size for the study. Sequence allocation software was used to assign 31 students into experimental groups and 30 into waitlisted control group. Participants in the intervention group received a rational emotive career education program that lasted for 12 sessions while those in waitlisted group did not receive the intervention. The participants in both groups were assessed at three points (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3) using rational and irrational belief scale. A repeated measure (ANOVA) and partial eta square statistical tools were used to analyze the data collected.Result:This study result showed that rational emotive career education significantly reduced irrational career beliefs among students enrolled in Agricultural Science Education program exposed to intervention group compared to those in waitlisted control group. It also showed that there was time × group interaction for irrational career beliefs. The follow-up assessment indicated that the efficacy of rational emotive career education was sustained overtime.Conclusion:This study concluded that rational emotive career education is beneficial in reducing irrational career beliefs of university students enrolled in Agricultural Science Education program. Recommendations were also made in line with the results.

Guidance’ wishes towards higher education. Comments from agricultural education students confronted with the judgements of their high school

En fin d’études secondaires, la plupart des vœux d’orientation des élèves vers l’enseignement supérieur français font l’objet d’avis de leurs professeurs et chef d’établissement. Quelles sont les perceptions des élèves à l’égard de ces avis déterminants pour leur orientation ? Au moment de leur découverte, via la « fiche avenir » de Parcoursup, quels sens les élèves donnent-ils à ces avis ? Comment les interprètent-ils ? Vingt-cinq élèves de classe de terminale technologique scolarisés dans trois lycées agricoles ont été confrontés à leur fiche avenir lors d’entretiens individuels. Il apparaît que les élèves interrogés méconnaissent le contenu de cette fiche ainsi que les critères qu’elle évalue. Ils la commentent sous l’angle de leur incompréhension des critères, l’absence de crédit qu’ils y portent, leur sentiment d’être injustement surévalués et leur déconvenue. Ceci est à mettre en parallèle d’une méconnaissance des rouages de la sélection dans l’enseignement supérieur.

Texas High School Counselor Perceptions of Agricultural Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of high school counselors across the state of Texas toward agricultural education. This study was descriptive in nature. High school counselors had an overall positive attitude toward agricultural education. They did not believe agricultural education courses were intended for lower-performing students. High school counselors agreed their local agricultural education program was valuable for college bound and non-college bound students. An overwhelming majority (85%) of high school counselors reported that student interest was their top priority when advising students to enroll in an agricultural education course. They had low to very low awareness of many opportunities available for agricultural education students. It is recommended that agricultural education teachers continue to develop strong, positive relationships with school counselors to provide education and awareness of the agricultural education program opportunities.

Intent to Teach: Perspectives from Pre-Service Agricultural Education Teachers

Historically, less than two-thirds of all newly certified agricultural education students enter the school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teaching profession. Teacher educators must understand preservice teachers’ intention to teach to help fulfill the demand for SBAE teachers. This study examines the motivations to consider a teaching career in SBAE for eight Oklahoma State University pre-service teachers in the early, mid, and late stages of their teacher education coursework. Qualitative methods were employed to describe these individuals’ intention to teach SBAE. Interviews and artifacts in the form of participant autobiographies were collected and analyzed. Intent to teach for these pre-service teachers was tied to the following six categories: expectations of the teaching profession, love of the FFA, need for relevant instruction, community, variety of learning environments, and career intent, which were framed according to the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991. Additional research should investigate what sustains teachers over time once they enter the profession.

Investigating the Effects of Cognitive Style Diversity on the Hypothesis Generation and Troubleshooting Ability of Undergraduate Students Enrolled in an Introductory Agricultural Mechanics Course at Louisianna State University

Problem solving has been regarded as one of the most important cognitive skills in everyday life. The complexity of problem solving in technical areas is a critical component to developing the problem solving abilities of agricultural education students. This study grounded in Kirton’s Adaptation- Innovation Theory (A-I Theory), sought to identify the effects of cognitive style diversity on the time to solution and hypothesis generation ability of undergraduate students enrolled in an agricultural mechanics course at Louisiana State University during the spring semester of 2018 (n = 17) and spring semester of 2019 (n = 15). Students were divided into three groups based on their Kirton’s Adaptation- Innovation Inventory (KAI) scores into three cognitive style diversity groups including (a) homogenous innovative, (b) homogenous adaptive, and (c) heterogenous. Overall, the more heterogeneous cognitive style diversity group was able to solve the problem more quickly as well as being the most successful group to hypothesize correctly, with the homogeneous innovator group being the slowest to reach conclusion. From the results of this study, it is recommended that educators consider cognitive styles when grouping students in undergraduate courses that are heavily laboratory based.