ERIC Number: EJ839874
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-0541
EISSN: N/A
Agricultural Literacy: Clarifying a Vision for Practical Application
Powell, David; Agnew, David; Trexler, Cary
Journal of Agricultural Education, v49 n1 p85-98 2008
"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. (Contains 6 figures.)
Descriptors: Constructivism (Learning), Elementary Secondary Education, Agricultural Education, Conflict, Public Education, High Stakes Tests, Epistemology
American Association for Agricultural Education. Box 7607, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, Raleigh, NC 27695. Web site: http://www.aaaeonline.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A