Historically, land grant universities and their colleges of agriculture have been discipline driven in both their curricula and research agendas. Critics call for interdisciplinary approaches to undergraduate curriculum. Concomitantly, sustainable agriculture (SA) education is beginning to emerge as a way to address many complex social and environmental problems. University of California at Davis faculty, staff, and students are developing an undergraduate SA major. To inform this process, a web-based Delphi survey of academics working in fields related to SA was conducted. Faculty from colleges and universities across the US were surveyed. Participants suggested that students needed knowledge of natural and social science disciplines relating to the agri-food system. In addition, stakeholders suggested students learn through experiences that link the classroom to field work, engaging a broad range of actors within applied settings. Stakeholders also emphasized the need for interdisciplinary and applied scholarship. Additionally, they proposed a range of teaching and learning approaches, including many practical experiences. Given the diverse suggestions of content knowledge and means of producing knowledge, the survey presented unique challenges and called into question the epistemological and pedagogical norms currently found in land grant colleges of agriculture. This study has implications for land grant universities seeking to develop undergraduate curriculum appropriate to the field of SA. Abbreviations:LGCA -Land grant colleges of agriculture; SA -Sustainable agriculture Damian M. Parr is a doctoral student of Agricultural and Environmental Education, in the School of Education at the University of California at Davis. His professional interests include organic farming, sustainable agriculture, experiential and transformational learning, critical pedagogy, and participatory action research. He is currently working on linking on-campus student initiated sustainable farm and food systems projects to curricula at land grant universities Cary J. Trexler is an assistant professor of Agricultural and Environmental Education at the University of California at Davis where he teaches courses in the history of agricultural education, experiential learning, and research methods for practicing teachers. His research focuses on experiential learning, sustainable agriculture education, and needs of teachers and informal educators within the context of the agri-food system Navina R. Khanna is a graduate student pursuing an MS in International Agricultural Development at the University of California at Davis. She is committed to facilitating community dialogue and education about sustainability issues. Her work at the university focuses on the process and goal of sustainability in agricultural education and campus food system sustainability. Her primary professional interests include democratic participatory process in agri-food system sustainability and urban revitalization Bryce T. Battisti is a doctoral student of Agri...
Agricultural educators and agricultural industry leaders have called for a basic level of agricultural literacy for Americans of all ages. Benchmarks have been developed by science and agricultural educators for students at all levels regarding an understanding of meat and livestock concepts. This qualitative study sought to ascertain rural fifth grade students' cognitive structures about these concepts. Through interviews and concept mapping, student understandings were unearthed. This study found that students were aware that food products come from animals, but they were not as aware of other products that animals produce for human use. The students did not understand the size and scope of modern agriculture, but most had a very basic understanding of the process that meat travels from farm to consumer. The language these students used to describe the benchmarks was not the language experts deemed necessary. Although the students could describe the steps of the process, their discourse did not include "scientifically" acceptable terminology educators prescribed in national benchmarks for science and agricultural education.
Student farms, developed largely out of student efforts, have served as centers for the development of experiential learning and sustainable agriculture and food systems educational activities on land‐grant colleges of agriculture well before most formal sustainable agriculture and food systems programs were proposed. This study explored students’ perspectives regarding effective learning approaches in sustainable agriculture and food systems (SAFS) education, how their experiences on student farms were integrated into their formal educational programs, and their motivations for participation in student farms. Focus groups were conducted with students who worked and studied at student farms (SF) located at three geographically diverse land‐grant colleges (in the Northeast, Midwest, and Western parts of the United States). Students’ learning preference for integrating classroom and fieldwork showed strong resemblance to the experiential learning theory that knowledge is constructed when learners resolve tensions between abstract conceptualization and concrete experience, reflective observation, and experimentation. Students and SF staff and faculty formed a SAFS community of practice that emphasized horizontal knowledge co‐construction, rather than simply privileging faculty (expert) transmission of abstract theory. Students sought out the SF to gain agricultural and horticultural production, marketing, and community development competencies in organic, small‐scale agriculture. Students were motivated by the empowerment they experienced when practical learning directly aligned with, and in some instances was an extension of, their values, ideals, and deeper sense of purpose. Findings suggest student farms are fertile locations for nurturing experiential learning activities as part of land‐grant colleges of agriculture curricula.
Three focus groups were conducted with Michigan 2nd-8th grade educators to assess teacher perceptions of the US agri-foodsystem, their thoughts on the importance of teaching about the system, what is currently being taught about the system, existing sources of agri-food system information, and external stakeholder recommendations for content and delivery of agri-food system education. The study concluded that educators emphasize the nutritional and health aspects of the agri-food system and are less knowledgeable about agriculture. Most generally agricultural education is taught as farming in the early elementary years, whereas in later grades nutrition information dominates instruction. Educators found it important that youth understand the food production and consumption system in order to make wellreasoned decisions regarding personal health and the environment. Teachers were receptive to more fully integrating agri-foodsystem education into existing curriculums and would teach such material if adequate support was given and if the content complemented existing State educational goals. Journal of Agricultural Education 30 was needed before society could make more informed choices about the food they consume. These suggestions are similar to the National Research Council (1988) assertion that agriculture is too important to be taught to only students in vocational education. It urged that more agriculture be taught in the country's schools. Agricultural educators advocate a broader role for agricultural concepts in U.S. public school curricula (Balschweid, Thompson, & Cole, 1998; Frick, Birkenholz, Gardner, & Machtmes, 1995). Vahoviak and Etling (1994) extend the discipline even further by suggesting that "agricultural education, with linkages to environmental education, could foster an educational philosophy with global sustainability as its focus" (p. 13).
The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the understandings of pest-related concepts by prospective elementary teachers. Guided by theoretical frameworks for science education and studies on agricultural literacy, a research protocol that included grounded theory and cognitive anthropology was used to surface respondents' understandings of three educational benchmarks for the concept of human management of crop growth. Data analysis included validating benchmarks and language that guided discourse, generating conceptual proposition maps, coding responses for comparison with expert propositions, and interpreting confirming or disconfirming patterns among informants. Out-of-school experiences were the strongest determinant of prospective teacher ability to engage in discourse that was compatible with experts. Informants held incomplete understanding of pest-related benchmarks as often indicated in their lack of ability to make connections between scientific, societal, and technological concepts. Informants lacked language to accurately articulate an understanding of the pest-relatedenchmarks. Most informants lacked understanding of the positive and negative impacts of pesticide use. The identification of agriculture as one of the eight basic technology areas for study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science underscores the need for cooperation between agricultural and science educators.
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