Food, Fibre and the Future : Report on surveys of students’ and teachers’ knowledge and understanding of primary industries

摘要

Primary Industry plays a vital role in Australian’s economy and society, but the gap between rural and urban communities is growing, contributing to a lack of understanding of where food and other basic necessities of life come from. The goal of the Primary Industries Education Foundation (PIEF) is to provide a source of information on primary industries for educators, to better equip students with not only knowledge about what goes into their food and fibres but also what career opportunities exist in primary industries. In 2010, PIEF contracted the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to design and conduct a baseline survey of students and teachers to find out what they know about primary industries in Australia. This project required that the ACER team work with representatives from the PIEF, with staff from Agriculture Education in each state and with other stakeholders such as the National Farmers’ Federation and other peak bodies to develop a research based instrument to assess students’ knowledge and understanding of issues facing the primary industries, focusing on where food and fibre products come from.