"Agricultural literacy" is a working concept with considerable range in meaning and impact. An overview of agricultural literacy curricula shows complementary deductive and inductive approaches to the systematic incorporation of agricultural education in K-12 classrooms. Based on positions discussed at the 2005 Agricultural Literacy Special Interest Group meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education, the authors identified three curricular approaches to promote agricultural literacy: (1) a deductive approach based on programmed frameworks, (2) an inductive approach based on the application of knowledge and process skills, and (3) a utilitarian, values-based approach promoting evaluation of agri-food system issues. The authors provide an original conceptual model underscoring points of possible synergy between these approaches. The model points out interactions imposed on the system by cognitive-constructivist expectations for learning, which conflict with political and social pressures for a "traditional" curriculum assessed through "high-stakes" tests. The authors suggest capitalizing on the strengths of each approach to lever change within the current public education environment. The authors offer a systematic plan that may resolve the external conflict between the expectations of agricultural educators and political/social advocates of standardized curricula and high stakes testing, turning these pressures into forces to promote agricultural literacy.

Agricultural literacy has been evolving as a discipline for over 25 years. In agriculture, as other disciplines of education, the body of knowledge can be identified and measured by a set of standards. The Food and Fiber Systems Literacy Standards, developed in the 1990s, have been widely accepted as the standards for agricultural literacy. Also developed in the 1990s was an agricultural literacy curriculum, called Project Food Land and People (FLP). The FLP curriculum, consisting of 55 units, is used in 27 states to teach science, math, social studies and language arts and to promote agricultural literacy in grades Pre-K through 12. This study uses the standards and benchmarks of the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy (F&FSL) to assess the extent to which FLP addresses the agricultural literacy standards for grade levels K-5. Although there were variations in the level of coverage, all standards and benchmarks of the F&FSL were addressed in the FLP units identified for grade groupings K-5. Congruence or incongruence, as measured by F&FSL standards and benchmarks, identified potential strengths and weaknesses to consider in revision of both curricula.

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Project Food, Land, and People (FLP), is a comprehensive K-12 curriculum that teaches about the interconnectedness of the environment, food, and society. Because teachers in Arkansas need to follow state guidelines, the curriculum was correlated to the state standards, revealing a systematic, thorough integration of academic subjects with agriculture. The FLP lessons address 75% of the Student Learning Expectations (SLEs) in the Arkansas Science Framework in grades K-4 (including 100% of life science SLEs), 66% of science SLEs in grades 5-8 (including 81% of life science SLEs), and 37% of science SLEs in grades 9-12 (including 63% of life science SLEs). FLP addresses 70% of the SLEs in the Arkansas Math Frameworks in grades K-4, 41% in grades 5-8, and 29% in grades 9-12. FLP addresses 69% of the SLEs in the Arkansas Social Studies Frameworks in grades K-4, 56% in grades 5-8, and 43% in grades 9-12. The FLP curriculum, consisting of 55 units, incorporates 45% of all SLEs in the Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks in all subject areas in grades K-4, 35% in grades 5-8, and 25% in grades 9-12. Documenting this connection provides justification of program appropriateness for teachers to consider in adoption and implementation of this curriculum.

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