TABLE OF CONTENT
Title Page — — — — — — — — — i
Approval Page — — — — — — — — ii
Certification — — — — — — — — iii
Dedication — — — — — — — — iv
Acknowledgement — — — — — — — — v
Table of Contents — — — — — — — — vi
List of Tables — — — — — — — — viii
Abstract — — — — — — — — ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION — — — — — 1
Background of the Study — — — — — — 1
Statement of the Problem — — — — — 5
Purpose of the Study — — — — — — 7
Significance of the Study — — — — — 7
Research Questions — — — — — — 9
Hypotheses — — — — — — — — 9
Delimitation of the — — — — — — — — 10
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE — — 11
Theory and Conceptual Framework of the Study — — 11
Skills in planning required for effective management
of school farm — — — — — — — 23
Skills in organising required for effective functioning of the
school farm — — — — — — — — 31
Skills in directing required for effective school farm operations — 36
Skills in controlling required for effective functioning of
school farm activities — — — — — — 39
Skills required for evaluating students’ performance in the
management of school farm — — — — — 48
Review of Related Empirical Studies — — — — 55
Summary of Literature Review — — — — — 59
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY — — — — — 61
Design of the Study — — — — — — 61
Area of the Study — — — — — — — 61
Population and Sample of the Study — — — — 61
Instrument for Data Collection — — — — — 62
Reliability of the Instrument — — — — — 62
Validation of the Instrument — — — — — 63
Method of Data Collection — — — — — 63
Method of Data Analysis — — — — — — 64
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA — 66
Research Question 1 — — — — — — 66
Research Question 2 — — — — — — 67
Research Question 3 — — — — — — 68
Research Question 4 — — — — — — 69
Research Question 5 — — — — — — 70
Hypothesis 1 — — — — — — — 71
Hypothesis 2 — — — — — — — 72
Hypothesis 3 — — — — — — — 73
Hypothesis 4 — — — — — — — 76
Findings of the Study — — — — — — 78
Discussion of Research Findings — — — — — 86
Findings of the Hypotheses — — — — — 90
Discussion of Findings of the Hypotheses– — — — 91
CHAPTER FIVE:
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION 94
Restatement of the Problem — — — — — 94
Purpose of the Study — — — — — — 95
Summary of Procedures Used — — — — — 95
Major Findings of the Study — — — — — 96
Conclusion — — — — — — — 97
Implications of the Study — — — — — — 97
Limitation of the Study — — — — — — 98
Recommendations — — — — — — — 98
Suggestion for Further Studies — — — — — 99
References — — — — — — — 100
Appendices — — — — — — 106
Abstract
This study is focused on the identification of skills required by Agricultural Science teachers for effective farm management in secondary schools in Anambra State. Five research questions were posed in conformity with the purpose of the study. Four null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance at relevant degrees of freedom. The study made use of survey research design. A structured questionnaire was generated from the literature reviewed and developed for the study. The questionnaire was face validated by three experts from the Department of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The reliability of the instrument and its sub-scales were determined using Cronbach’s alpa reliability coefficient. The reliability coefficient for the instrument was 0.91 while that of sub-scales were 0.87 for skills in planning in school farm, 0.96 for skills in organizing school farm, 0.89 for skills in directing school farm operations, 0.93 for skills in controlling school farm and 0.90 for evaluating students’ performance in the farm. The data were collected from 445 agricultural science teachers in secondary schools in Anambra State using the same instrument. The data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviations to answer the research questions, while the t-test statistics was used in testing the hypotheses. The findings from the study revealed that eleven (11) planning skills were required in management of school farm, nine (9) organizing skills were required in the operation of school farm, sixteen (16) directing skills were required in school farm management, eleven (11) controlling skills were required in the activities of the school farm and seven (7) evaluating skills were required for evaluating student’s performance in the school farm. The result of the null hypotheses tested revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean rating of the responses of the groups of respondents on skills required by Agricultural Science teachers for effective management of school farms. It was recommended that Faculties of Education in universities and other institutions involved in teacher preparation should incorporate specific practical farm management skills identified into their training programmes in order to equip the would-be teachers with the skills for good performance after graduation.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Agricultural Science is a pre-vocational subject in the junior and senior secondary schools respectively. The objective of this subject is to provide basic knowledge and skills that will prepare students either to perform in an occupation or to make a career in the chosen subject (FGN, 2004).
For the students to acquire the skills in agriculture, opportunity has to be provided for them to practice the skills they are taught in an environment that is relevant to the job skills learnt. In the study of sciences in schools, science laboratories are provided where students are taught the practical aspects of the subject as in integrated science laboratory in junior secondary schools just as there are physics, chemistry and biology laboratories in the senior secondary classes. Thus, the school farm is a laboratory for theteaching of agricultural science in the schools.
According to Osinem (2004) it is a miniature pilot farm where scientificfindings, and innovations can be tried thoroughly and adjustments made before feedback is sent to researchers for improvement. The importance of school farm in skill development and acquisition of basic entry skills cannot be over-stressed. Olaitan and Ogbazi (1988) in support of the above stated that school farm provides an environment where theoretical aspects of agriculture taught in the classroom in respect of improved knowledge, skill and practices in agricultural production are tried out and put into real life situation.
The school farm is also recognized as a laboratory for teaching agricultural practical lessons. It means that students are supposed to possess skills required to its effective utilization to entry level skills in school farm management. A study by Agbulu (1998) on the utilization of school farms for improvement of the teaching of agricultural science in Benue State found that the school farms were not utilized for improving the teaching of agricultural science teachers. The findings also revealed that teachers taught only the theoretical aspects of the subject in the classroom.
This undoubtedly, is contrary to the improvement of agricultural education, which is greatly needed at this period for the development of the students (Okorie, 2001). Even though the school farm has been perceived as very important for imparting manipulative skills to students it requires effective management to do this and relevant skills required by the agricultural science teachers to manage the farm effectively. Skills is defined by Winfield (1983) as any series of mental or physical acts executed in a such a way as to demonstrate complete control by the executor. Skill can also be said to be amanual dexterity learned through repetitive performance of a task. It is anestablished habit or a way of doing a particular job (Okorie, 2000).
In the context of the management of school farm, skill can be regarded as expertise or accuracy in carrying out tasks and activities that lead to efficiency or perfections in the performance of farm functions. The school farm is a laboratory for agricultural classes and for it to function effectively, it has to be well managed.
Management in this context is defined as the process of planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating activities in the farm to achieve specific objectives.
These objectives include:
- To demonstrate appropriate practices
- To provide valuable experiences to students
- To provide opportunities for co-ordinating classroom theory with
- To conduct some experiments.
In their own view Thieurauf and Collins (2000) saw management as a process of allocating an organization’s input (human and material resource) through planning, organizing, directing and controlling for the purpose of accomplishing organizational objectives. In his opinion Ojukwu (1992) defined farm management as a skillful treatment towards crop and livestock production as well as the art of controlling the resources of producing crops and livestock.
Osuaia (2000) explained the expected management practice needed by an entrepreneur (just like it affects agricultural science teachers) as:
Planning: Deciding what work to be done and plan to accomplish it.
Organizing: Deciding how the work is to be divided and co-ordinated.
Staffing: Ensuring that there are sufficient personnel to carry out the work.
Directing: Motivating students to perform leading them towards a goal achievement and informing them about their assignments. Controlling: Setting standards, measuring performance against standard and taking corrective action as needed incorporating specific activities into farm management practices. Olaitan (1984) included maintenance of soil fertility, control of soil erosion, weed pest and disease control and feeding of livestock as part of farm management. The agricultural science teachers therefore inadding to the possession of these skills are supposed to have skills.in soil management, plants and animal production, that would help him co-ordinate and control available resources and activities in the school farm for psychoproductive oriented teaching of the subject. Effective management of school farm therefore requires basic skills for planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating.
The relevance of skills for effective planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating of the school is buttressed by the observation of Upton (1973) who noted that physical resources of land, labour and capital cannot be productive unless they are organized and co-ordinated by someone who makes the necessary decisions and carries them out.
In case of the school farm management, the agricultural science teacher is supposed to be the decision maker, the organizer and co-ordinator of the learning experiences and activities his students will be exposed to, inorder to achieve set goals. The extent to which the teachers can perform these functions depends on their possession of the required managementskills.
Okeke (1991) highlighted that one of the reasons why available farm resource materials are not utilized by agricultural science teachers in the secondary schools is that they lack necessary skills to operate them emphasizing that teachers should understand how to use and control resource materials such as the school farm and other facilities that could be derived therefrom. Similar observation was made by Nkajemeje (1988) who observed that lack of practical competencies on the part of agricultural science teachers was a factor inhibiting effective farm operations foreducational benefits of the students. In the context of school farm management, a great gender gap exists between the male and female agricultural science teachers. Equality and justice between the sexes remain illusion of most societies of the world.
Keller (1991) defined gender as a cultural construct that distinguishes the roles, behaviour, mental and emotional characteristics between females and males developed by a society. It therefore becomes relevant for some concerted efforts to be made towards identifying the skills required by agricultural science teachers for effective management of school farm in secondary schools in Anambra State.
Statement of the Problem
The 6-3-3-4 system of education was introduced in Nigeria out of a felt need for skill development and occupational education in Nigeria among other objectives.
The development of skills relevant for jobs in agriculture by students would depend on effective management and utilization of the school farm for imparting agricultural skills to the students by the teachers.
Agbulu (1996) revealed that agricultural science teachers were not utilizing the school farms for imparting practical skills to students for such reason as lack of skill by the teachers of agriculture at secondary school levels. That may be why it has been widely speculated that teachers of agriculture are not using the school farm effectively as a teaching facility for the development of skills in student (Nkajemeje, 1988; Okeke, 1991; Agbulu, 1996).
Inspectors and supervisors of schools in Anambra State reported lack of effective management of school farms as one of the reasons that prevented students from generating interest in agriculture and acquiring relevant skills (Nkajemeje, 1988).
It is also observed that teachers could not identify the underlying principles of the school farm that could help them motivate students and identify the special interests, needs and abilities in practical agriculture. Adewurni (1990) attributed this to ill-preparedness and incompetency of the teachers who are sometimes trained in a school and colleges that do not have school farm.
It is also observed that many school graduates who have no job could have benefited from making a living in agriculture, if they had developed entry level skills in agriculture while in school.
Nevertheless, the Anambra State Government has now supported a new direction of providing qualitative education for every child in the state and to make agriculture one of the disciplines in which students can now develop entry level skills for economic survival in the future. To make government objectives realizable in agriculture there is need for agricultural science teachers to improve upon their skills to enable them manage the school farm as effective laboratory for students to acquire entry level skills for occupation. Such skills can be acquired if the skills are integrated into the training programme of the pre-service teachers. Therefore, the problem of the study is in the need to develop skills required by agricultural science teachers in secondary schools in Anambra state.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of the study was to determine management skills required by agricultural science teachers for effective functioning of the school farm. Specifically, the study sought to:
- determine the skills required by Agricultural Science teachers forplanning of school farm;
- find out the skills required by Agricultural Science teachers fororganizing the school farm;
- examine the skills required by Agricultural Science teachers for directing school farm;
- identify the skills required by Agricultural Science teachers for controlling the school farm activities;
- determine the skills required by Agricultural Science teachers for evaluating students’ performance in the management of school
Significance of the Study
The following group of people would benefit from the findings of the study. They include the teachers, students, curriculum planners, the state government and the teacher trainers.
The teachers would realize the farm management skills they lack or are deficient in and thus undertake a retraining programme to acquire or upgrade them. The acquisition/improvement of these farm management skills would equip the teachers with skills to control the school farm and use it for imparting practical skills to the students.
The students would benefit from the study if the result is implemented, leading to improvement on their teachers’ skills and consequent utilization of the school farm by the teachers to impart practical skills to them. This would help the students acquire skills in managing their own farm enterprises for a living after schooling.
The curriculum planners would also benefit from the study. The result of the skills required for improvement by teachers if considered and acted upon would enable them reform their curriculum in line with the practical needs of the teachers especially in farm management.
The colleges of education and education faculties of universities as weil as polytechnics in charge of teacher training would find the result of the study useful as the information on skills required for effective farm management would help them improve their training programmes to equip incoming teachers with these relevant skills.
The ministry of education and supervisors in the area of agriculture would find the study useful as they would be provided with relevant information on skills required by agricultural science teachers for improvement and thus have inputs for organizing workshops and retraining programmes for the teachers. The government would also have a direction in funding school farm programmes since improvement on teachers skills would lead to better management of the school farm and consequent increase in output of the farm.
Research Questions
The following research questions were answered by the study:
- What are the skills in planning required by Agricultural Science teachers for effective management of school farm?
- What are the skills in organizing required by Agricultural Science
teachers for effective functioning of school farm? - What are the skills in directing Agricultural Science teachers required for effective school farm operations?
- What are the skills required by Agricultural Science in controlling
farm activities? - What are the skills required by Agricultural Science teachers for evaluating students’ performance in school farm management?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance and at relevant degrees of freedom:
ho1: There is no significant difference between the mean response of theAgricultural Science teachers on the skills required for effectiveplanning of school farm.
Ho2: There is no significant difference between the mean response of theAgricultural Science teachers on the skills required for organizing theschool farm.
Ho3: There is no significant difference between the mean response of themale and female Agricultural Science teachers on the skills required fordirecting the school farm management.
Ho4: There is no significant difference between the mean response of the male and female Agricultural Science teachers on the skills required for controlling school farm management.
Delimitation of the Study
This study was restricted to teachers who possess National and Higher Diploma (ND/HND) and Degree qualifications in Agricultural Science, and are engaged in secondary schools in Anambra state. It had a main focus of determining skills required by Agricultural Science teachers for effective management of the school farm. It was also concerned with the determination of farm management skills required for effective functioning of the school farm as well as skills required for evaluating students’ performance in the school farm management.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
SKILLS REQUIRED BY AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE TEACHERS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOL FARMS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE
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