Agricultural Education = Agricultural Literacy

Abstract

In early America, settlers were totally dependent upon their food source. If they produced their own food, they knew how to grow it, where to sell it, and how to process and preserve it so that it remained safe for consumption. If they did not produce their own food, they knew where to find the most reliable source, both in quality and quantity. They knew because their lives depended upon this knowledge. Although most agriculturalists would argue that little has changed in our dependency upon a reliable source of quality food, most would also agree that the vast majority of Americans know very little about today's food and fiber system. Simply put, the majority of Americans seem to be agriculturally illiterate. Webster defines literacy as being knowledgeable in a particular subject or field, in this case, agriculture. Webster also defines education as the process of developing that knowledge. IF we accept those definitions, what we do in agricultural education at the middle and secondary levels is to develop students into agriculturally literate citizens. If so, agricultural education equals agricultural literacy. However, the agricultural education profession has been slow to embrace agricultural education as an agricultural literacy program. Research indicates conflicting results in the level of agricultural literacy. Rural students, despite their backgrounds, lack understanding of agricultural concepts concerning food products (Meischen & Trexler, 2003). While Northwestern elementary teachers appreciate agricultural curriculum, their perceived lack of time to implement it tempers their enthusiasm (Balschweid, Thompson, & Cole, 1998). Trexler and Suvedi (1998) demonstrated that principals were initially more positive about utilizing agricultural literacy programs as a method for teaching scientific concepts than were their teachers. When urban elementary students were observed learning science process skills, the method shown to have the greatest effect on developing those skills was one that employed agriculturally oriented, experiential activities (Mabie & Baker, 1996). Interestingly, much of the body of research in agricultural literacy is focused at the elementary and middle school levels - not the secondary level. In the late 19th century, and for over three-quarters of the 20th century, agricultural education was primarily targeted at students who were already presumed to be agriculturally literate those who already had an agricultural background. In the latter part of the century, however, education in agriculture shifted to include students with no previous agricultural experience. With the release in 1988 of the National Research Council's report, Understanding Agriculture: New Directions for Education, the need was pronounced that "all students should receive at least some systematic instruction about agriculture beginning in kindergarten or first grade and continuing through twelfth grade." As a profession, we are making some progress toward this goal, though some would argue that it is only a fraction of what is possible. The program Reinventing Agricultural Education for the Year 2020 clearly indicates that not only should agricultural literacy be part of every student's education from kindergarten through high school, and beyond, but also that agricultural education must serve as the torchbearer in that effort. However, many would argue that we fall far short of accomplishing that goal - at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. …