Trends Affecting agricultural education

1
Trends Affecting agricultural education

• Turning points for changes in our contextual
  history.
• AGED 5053

2
The Early Years to 1920

• Civil War
• Migration to cities
• Industrial revolution
• World War I

3
NEA Committee of Ten 1893

• Purpose of high school?
• Prep for college or work?
• (Committee members predominantly presidents of
  liberal arts colleges.)
• Conclusion
• High schools should prepare people for college
  and for life.
• Little attention to education for work.

4
Douglass Commission (1906)

• Governor of Massachusetts.
• Commissioned study of vocational ed in state.
• AgEd est. in MA as result.
• Rufus Stimson was instrumental.
• MA was leader in AgEd.
• Regional agriculture high schools est.
• County extension offices located in them.

5
Country Life Commission (1908)

• President T. Roosevelt appointed.
• To determine how to improve rural living
  conditions.
• Dean of Ag at Cornell U., Liberty Hyde Bailey,
  chair.

6
Country Life Commission

• Findings
• Rural schools deplorable,
• People socially isolated,
• Roads bad,
• Communication poor,
• Need for farm credit,
• Farm cooperatives needed,
• Extension needed.

7
Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching

• 1906 - 1909
• Recommended standardization of
• school day length,
• time spent to teach each subject matter,
• awarding of credits for subjects learned.
• Result
• Carnegie Unit which is used today.

8
Commission on National Aid to Vocational
Education (1914)

• Result of argument surround establishment of
  Extension Service and Vocational Education.
• Both sides got together, agreed to support each
  others separate bills.
• Created by Congress immediately after passage of
  Smith-Lever Act as part of the compromise.

9
Comm. on National Aid to VoEd

• Senator Hoke Smith, chair
• Some members
• Rep. Dudly Hughes
• Charles Prosser (Exec. Sec. Of NSPIE)
• Given 6 months and 45 person staff.

10
Comm. on National Aid to VoEd

• There is a need for VoEd.
• Is a wise economic investment.
• VoEd will democratize the education of the
  country by addressing peoples differences.
• VoEd will affect general ed by teaching learning
  by doing
• VoEd will add utility to education increasing
  wage earning capacity.

11
Comm. on National Aid to VoEd

• Training for different vocations is important,
  but Ag and TI most urgent.
• National for teacher salaries training.
• Problem is national in scope.
• States need federal .
• Need for national studies reports.
• Included draft Smith-Hughes bill.

12
Commission on Reorganization of Secondary
Education (1918)

• 7 Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education
• All students should receive education in
• health
• command of fundamental processes
• worthy home membership
• vocation
• civic education
• worthy use of leisure time
• ethical character

13
Joint Committee Report on Extension Programs,
Policies, Goals (1948)

• In 1930s Ext. was charged with teaching about
  govt. programs and encouraging farmers to
  participate.
• 1940s Ext. was charged with increasing
  efficiencies to help with war effort.
• Depression over, war over What should Extension
  do?

14
Joint Committee Report on Extension Programs,
Policies, Goals (1948)

• Joint committee appt. by Sec. of Ag. and National
  Assoc. of State Universities and Land Grant
  Colleges.
• Study mission of Extension Service

15
Joint Committee Report on Extension Programs,
Policies, Goals (1948)

• Kepner Report
• Ag., home economics, 4-H primary audience of
  Extension. But cant ignore urban.
• Continue one-on-one contacts, meetings,
  demonstrations.
• Change / improve relations with farm
  organizations.
• Est. stronger ties between CES and academic base.
  (agents not using research base)

16
Brown vs. Board of Education, Topeka (1954)

• Separate but equal ruled unconstitutional.

17
Sputnik - Russians (1957)

• American education was falling behind.
• Need more emphasis on
• science
• math
• foreign language
• technology
• to catch up.

18
Statement of Scope and Responsibility

• A Guide to Extension Programs in the Future
  (1958)
• Sputnik
• farm surpluses, low prices
• need to study
• production marketing resources
• management family youth
• leadership community public affairs

19
A Guide to Extension Programs in the Future (1958)

• Broaden scope of Extension
• add new programs, cannot be handled by
  traditional methods of staffing organization.
• New programs for new publics
• programs cross departmental lines
• future Extension staff will be more specialized
• post B.S. training will be required.
• Training must be beyond subject matter to include
  adult education.
• Training of staff must be continuous.

20
A Guide to Extension Programs in the Future (1958)

• Re-training will be needed as Extension jobs
  change.
• Goal of training should be job self-exam.
• Sound program planning
• Research will be basic resource for programs.
• Teaching methods tailored for needs.
• All teaching must be evaluated.
• In mass media, Ext. must be professional.
• Ext. system must provide adequate materials for
  local leaders.

21
Panel of Consultants on VoEd (1962)

• Appointed by President Kennedy.
• Report Education for a Changing World of Work
• Expand vocational offerings
• Update them
• Make available to more groups of people.

22
The People Left Behind (1967)

• President Johnson created
• National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty
• Rural poverty widespread a national disgrace.
• High proportion of those in city slums came from
  rural slums.
• Programs for rural America woefully out of date.

23
The People Left Behind (1967)

• Some of our rural programs, especially farm and
  vocational agriculture programs, are relics from
  an earlier period.
• Most rural programs do not take the speed and
  consequences of technological change into
  account.

24
The People Left Behind (1967)

• Made 33 recommendations, including
• expand occupational education programs that
  will enable students to adapt to a changing
  society.
• Cooperative Extension provide younger low
  income farmers with info they need to decide
  whether to stay in farming or seek non-farm
  employment. If they stay, provide intensive
  assistance to become viable.

25
The People Left Behind (1967)

• Fed. Govt. provide to create homemaking teams
  to work intensively with low income rural
  families.
• CES devote more efforts toward development of
  comprehensive youth program that focuses on total
  development of individual. May be less emphasis
  on 4-H clubs.

26
The People Left Behind (1967)

• Land Grant universities concentrate more research
  and education resources to problems of people and
  communities adjusting to changes brought about by
  economic growth and development.

27
A People and a Spirit (1968) CES

• Emphasized social side of Extension, rather than
  technical.
• Recognized disadvantaged.
• Extension teach people how to help themselves.
• Involve clients in planning.
• All people as clients include low-income, urban.
• 1890 institutions given role in Extension.

28
Hard Tomatoes, Hard Times (1972)

• By Jim Hightower, Texas politician and radio
  personality.
• Scathing indictment of land grant colleges,
  Extension, and ag research.
• Claimed needs of small farmers, rural
  communities, farm workers, rural poor, Black
  farmers all ignored.
• L-Gs only care about big agribusiness.

29
A Nation at Risk The Imperative for Educational
Reform (1983)

• National Commission on Excellence in Education
  appointed by Sec. Of Ed. Terrell Bell
• (who was appointed by Pres. Reagan to preside
  over dismantling of USDE.)
• Education in US in trouble
• need higher standards,
• more emphasis on academics

30
Extension in the 80s (1983)

• Yet another study of CES
• Environmental programs
• 4-year plans

31
Understanding Agriculture New Directions for
Education (1988)

• USDA USDE secretaries joint commissioned this.
• Conducted by National Academy of Sciences
• AgEd in US high schools does not extend beyond
  vocational agriculture.
• Focus of AgEd must change.
• K-12 instruction in ag.
• (more)

32
Understanding Agriculture New Directions for
Education (1988)

• For many years, VoAg had positive effect.
• Mostly white males.
• Focus and content is outdated.
• Programs are uneven in quality.
• Reform lies with State and National leadership.
• MAJOR revisions needed in VoAg.
• Quality must be substantially enhanced.
• (more)

33
Understanding Agriculture New Directions for
Education (1988)

• Magnet schools should be established.
• Teachers should seek out high technology.
• All students should have an SOE (SAE).
• FFA should change name, symbols, rituals,
  contests, requirements for membership, etc. to
  reflect contemporary agriculture.
• Programmatic changes are needed.
• Subject matter must be broadened.
• Exemplary programs should be emulated.
• Teacher prep. inservice must be revised.

34
Patterns of Change (1991)

• CES
• Issues-based programming
• Use of new technology

35
Framing the Future Strategic Framework for a
System of Partnerships (1995)

• The Cooperative Extension A Facilitator of
  Access for Community-Based Education
• CES mission to enable people to improve their
  lives and communities
• collaboration credibility
• democracy diversity
• learner-centered, life-long education
• scholarship self-reliance
• teamwork

36
Framing the Future Strategic Framework for a
System of Partnerships (1995)

• CES vision recognizes CES as national lifelong
  educational network of L-G universities
• connect research and knowledge from L-G
• provide access to global info in response to
  emerging issues and local critical needs
• form partnerships
• est. cooperative ventures with private and public
  institutions and agencies.
• practice scholarship leading to improvement of
  organization, methods and outcomes.

37
Reinventing Agricultural Education for the Year
2020 (1998-2000)

• Funded by Kellogg Foundation
• Futuring project of the Agricultural Education
  (the USDE program) family.
• What should it be?
• Who should it serve?
• What should be taught?
• How should it be organized?
• Etc.