Biosciences enliven the agricultural education curriculum

摘要

The history of vocational/agricultural education has seen many changes both in quality and structure of programs. Some of the most recent changes have involved curriculum shifts from the traditional curriculum areas of production agriculture to a more technological and science related curriculum. The challenge to agricultural education teachers in secondary schools is to enliven the curriculum and make it relevant to the needs of their students. Biotechnology has the potential to generate non-farmemployment for future agricultural education graduates. So how does the teacher bring biotechnology into the study of agriculture? What does the teacher need to do to prepare for biotechnology education, and develop and broaden the agricultural educationprogram? Figure 1 lists specific steps to answer these questions Many university departments of Agricultural Education have inservice training programs available for high school teachers to help them learn more about the latest developments in agricultural technology. A study conducted at Iowa State University among secondary school agricultural educators (N=610) in the North Central Region showed that many teachers have taken advantage of these inservice programs. This study showed that 61.4 percent of the teachers in this region had attended some of these workshops focused on biotechnology. Only 38.6 percent had not attended any inservice training or agricultural education updates. This information suggests that in-service education is one area of great need. Thompson (1998) in his study also indicated that the teachers felt a need for more preparation time in order to integrate science into the agricultural education curriculum. If biotechnology is to have a positive impact on broadening the curriculum, an agricultural education teacher must be attracted to workshops that provide the tools and activities to make it worthwhile.