Impact Of Teaching And Learning Of Agricultural Science Education On The Economic Growth Of Nigeria ( A Case Study Of Ehime Mbano Local Government Area Of Imo State

ABSTRACT

The research study investigated the impact of teaching and learning of Agricultural science education on the Economic growth of Nigeria ( A case study of Ehime Mbano L.G.A, Imo state).  Four research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 200 Agricultural Science students and teachers. A four point rating scale was used to collect data from the respondents. The statistics of mean score was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the level of attention given to Agricultural science education is very poor  in secondary schools due to lack of qualified teachers and poor teaching methods which affects the impact of teaching and learning of Agricultural science in secondary schools. The researcher recommended  that teachers should stop using school farm for punishment purposes and Government should employ adequate provision of funds for procurement of practical instructments as well as other essential school farm equipments that are not available in  the  schools.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher presents the following sub-headings: background to the study, statement of the problem, scope of the study, purpose of the study, significant of the study and research questions.

Background to the Study

Teaching according to Balogun (2003), is the passing on of ideas, knowledge, skills, attitudes, belief and feeling to someone with the aim of bring about particular changes in the behavior of a person. Teaching is a profession of those who impact knowledge or skill, especially in an elementary or a secondary or in a university. According to Ayeni (2011), teaching can be defined as a systematic process of transmitting knowledge, attitudes and skills in accordance with professional principles.

The term Agriculture is derived from the Latin words “AGER” meaning field and “CULTURA” meaning cultivation.  This suggests that the earliest form of agriculture production was crop production. Agriculture is the foundation and bedrock upon which the development of stable human community has depended on throughout the whole universe such as rural and urban communities. It may be noted that Agriculture is more than crop production, it also includes animal production, marketing of produces and products.

Erebor (2003) defines Agriculture as the art and science of cultivating the soil, processing crops and livestock products for man and the process of selling excess livestock and crop.

Akinmade (2002), referred to agriculture as the cultivation of the soil, the production of crops and the raising of livestock, poultry and fish useful to humans. It includes the relevant aspects of production, processing, marketing and other aspects of the modern business of agriculture. According to him, agriculture covers not only the cultivation of the soil and the feeding and management of crops and livestock but also the preparation of plants and animal products for marketing.

According to Izuchukwu (2011), Agriculture has been the backbone of the economy in Nigeria providing employment and source of livelihood for the increasing population, it accounts for over half of the GDP of Nigerian economy as at independence in 1960. However, studies have revealed that seven out of ten Nigerians live in abject poverty; hardly able to feed, cloth and house themselves, it is against this backdrop that the study seeks to assess the impact of agriculture on economic growth. Agriculture accounts for about 70 percent of the employment, 90 percent of the country’s food production as well as for the production of raw materials for agro-allied industries and improvement of the income and standard of living of the majority of the citizens who are farmers (Ajani, 2006).

Agricultural science education in Nigeria has evolved over the years but there are still several challenges facing it. Some of these includes; improper teaching methods, inadequate teaching materials, lack of qualified teachers and so on. These challenges hinders the attainment of optimum output expected in terms of qualified graduates that are independent.

Idoko (2000), viewed agricultural education as the process of impacting technical and vocational skills necessary for the improvement and development of agricultural production.

Kinanee (2004) views self-concept as the sum total of ideas, feelings and attitude that one has about their self. Thus, self-concept lays a foundation for academic performance.  In agreement, onyejiaku (2001) affirms that the “perceived self” influences the individual perception of the world and his or her behavior which influences academic achievement. When a person feels good about himself, he is propelled to want more success. As he gains success in his task, his self-concept is strengthened and makes him open to more challenging task. Students with high self-concept have a better perception of self and and are more confident in their abilities in school experiences than those with low self-concept.

Statement of the Problem

Effective teaching always takes place with competency in skills and knowledge of the personnel. Teacher is being rated as one of the most important school-related factor influencing the outcome of teaching learning process. The inability of many teachers to effectively impart the subject area to students is partly due to deficiencies of practical skills areas in teachers’ competency. There is obviously needs to identify the needs of those teachers in their subject area, in order to trace their area of needs and weaknesses and to suggest ways of meeting up their needs for effective teaching of their students. However, if the teachers’ deficiencies are left unidentified, it will undermine the students’ skills development and will hamper the achievement of the objectives of organization.

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) Chief Examiner Report (2011-2015) revealed that students were unable to identify soil texture, soil composition, podzol soil. In the face of these problems identified by the WAEC reports above, it is important that the teachers of agricultural science should use a practical approach to the teaching of the subject. Thus, it could be better for bringing up agricultural science students in the field and the society. It is obvious that, students tend to understand and recall what they see and touch more than what they hear whenever they call for practical lesson.

Lack of Good quality teachers, teacher’s quality has a strong bearing on societal survival since the quality of education in any society depends on the quality of its teachers. In any nation, agricultural development depend to a large extend, on the quality of Agricultural Science teachers which are also dependent on their professional and pedagogical competence.

Poor Teacher’s motivation, due to little or no motivation, poor supply of teaching materials, inadequate educational resources, infrastructural facilities and organizational structure of agricultural learning, there is poor job satisfaction on the part of the teacher. This creates a poor quality agricultural educational programmes and poor agricultural teacher preparation programmes.

Lack of Instructional Materials, teaching facilities should be provided to schools to enable the teachers to be more effective in their jobs. School should be encouraged to go into cooperative ventures with communities to procure farm inputs or share facilities so that students can have real occupational experiences in agriculture. The present agricultural science curriculum should be improved with more of vocational contents. This is because the concepts of production, protection and economics that form the core content of the curriculum presently is not sufficient to transform theories to skills in student, and without the practical skills, the students cannot produce crops or rear animals as stipulated in the National Policy of Education, (NPE).

Scope of the Study

This research work focuses on the impact of teaching and learning of agricultural science education on the economic growth of Nigeria, using Ehime Mbano LGA, Imo state case of study. The study will contribute to knowledge and help decision makers in the area of educational management and planning also in economics development and planning of the state and country at large.

Purpose of the study

The main purpose of the  study  is to find out the impact of teaching and learning of Agricultural science on the Economic growth of Nigeria using Ehime Mbano LGA, Imo state as case of the study, specifically, the study sought to;

• determine the challenges of teaching and learning in agricultural science education in schools.
• identify the factors that affect lack of school farms.

3) ascertain the level of attention given to the teaching and learning of practical agriculture.

4) ascertain students perception of use of practicals in teaching agricultural science.

 Significance of the Study

The finding of this study will be of immense benefit teachers, students, educational planners, ministry of education, and parents.

Teachers would benefit significantly from the findings by making use of the findings as a basis for self- assessment regarding strategies needed in teaching agriculture thereby improving their performance in both classroom and field practice. It will also help teachers to find better methods of handling the subject in order to arouse and maintain the interest of students in agriculture and help them choose it as a vocation.

The study would also be beneficial to teaching service board and Imo state ministry of education by getting the identified technical competency needed by agricultural science teachers and on the basis of it, seminars, workshops and in-service training for agricultural teachers will be organized by the state ministry of education for capacity building and improvements of teachers for effective teaching.

Government would also significantly benefit from the findings of this study during curriculum design by making more emphasis on teaching skills aspect in the curriculum.

Similarly, agricultural science students would significantly benefit from the finding in the sense that, as their teachers improve students will gain the needed relevant theory and practical skills which will enhance learning capacity and sustain their interest in agriculture.

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated by the researcher to guide the study;

1) what are the challenges to effective teaching and learning of Agricultural science education?

2) To what extent does lack of school farms affect teaching and learning of Agricultural science education in schools?

3) what are the students perceptions of practical agriculture?

4) what is the level of attention given to the teaching and learning of practical agriculture?

Pages:  63

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Research Work By Jessica Nwelue, A Student of Imo State University, Owerri

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.