THE PROBLEM OF TEACHING AND LEARNING OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

1.1 Introduction

Agricultural education is generally focused on producing seasoned skilled manpower that will shape and develop agricultural industries around the world. Freddie (2004) noted that the decline in the number of students entering the field of agriculture has been on the rise over the years. The number of students studying agricultural education in Nigerian tertiary institutions is also dwindling. A reason for this decline is the way students view agricultural profession as being labour intensive and a profession for the less privileged in the society. But agriculture as a profession provides diverse food and fiber to feed the growing population of the world. Agricultural science is a deliberate attempt by man to cultivate crops, rear animals and care for them, for the benefit of feeding the world population.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

The teaching of agricultural education in tertiary institutions is aimed at producing citizens with skills, competencies and reasoned judgment to successfully live and add meaningfully to the economic growth of Nigeria. Current issues in education need the serious attention of Government, researchers, industries and universities due to rapid development in the world today. Education is the process of acquiring skills, knowledge and other talents that sustain individuals in the labor market. The essence of education is to develop in individuals the necessary knowledge, skills and habit that would enable them function effectively in a society they exist. From the colonial concept of training for administrative manpower needs to the present stage, education is still based on integration of individuals into sound and effective citizenry.

In the opinion of Ukeje (2019), education is the bed rock and foundation of any developing country, since no meaningful development can take place without adequate manpower development to pilot the affairs of such nation. In line with this ideology that growth and development of any nation is directly proportional to the nation’s achievement in the field of education, it is therefore necessary to stress that Nigeria can no longer accommodate the idea of producing individuals that are poorly equipped with the necessary skills that can readily ensure their survival in the labour market. Also the quality of education any nation impacts in her citizens to a large extent, determine the success and shortfalls in a highly competitive economy as in Nigeria.

There are many challenges militating against teaching of Agricultural science over the years, particularly Eastern Nigeria. Many research have been conducted by researchers on those challenges and prospects of teaching agricultural science education at tertiary level. It is important to emphasize that the use of instructional teaching technique/method, the use of syllabus of the Agriculture Science and the motivation as well as teacher’s qualification and method of teaching are known factors that militates against the teaching of Agriculture Science.

Teachers’ educational qualification should serve as a yard stick in appointing them in any of the Tertiary schools. Educational qualification is simply the level of education attained by an individual in an academic institution. Examples of educational qualification include: NCE, B.ED, M.ED, and PhD among others. Area of specialization is vital in the appointment of an Agricultural teacher. Area of specialization is the act of specializing, or pursuing a particular line of study or work; a particular area of knowledge or the process of becoming an expert in a particular area (Simon, 2019). It is the act or process of focusing upon one particular area of activity or field of research. Teachers who specialize in Agricultural science tend to perform better than their counterparts in other areas of specialization when they are given the job of teaching the Agricultural science as a subject in Higher institutions. Omotola (2019) suggested that teachers should be appointed to teach in the area of their specializations in order to bring out the best in them.

For Siamwalla and Valdes (2004), food security is the ability of the countries, regions or households to meet target levels of food consumption on a yearly basis. In a similarly vein, the Committee on World Food Security posited that food security connotes physical and economic access to adequate food for all household members, without undue risk of losing the access. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) also defined food security as a state of affairs where all people at all times have access to safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and productive life. This implies: availability, accessibility, and proper utilization. Food security means ensuring that sufficient food is available; maintaining sufficient supplies through domestic production at relatively stable levels; allowing access to food for those in need of it; and ensuring biological utilization of food. This implies adequate storage against spoilage, disease and ensures nutrient balance. In addition, the World Bank (2017) looked at food security as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security is thus people-oriented and it implies a situation in which all households have both physical and economic access to adequate food for all members and households are not at risk of losing such.

Therefore, in Sabon Gari Local Government where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Problem of Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Science in Tertiary Institutions.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation reveals the challenges of students failing Agricultural Science in tertiary institution which is alarming. This increase the number of school dropouts and causes an obstacle to many from furthering their studies. The failure in Agriculture has also been linked with failure in other subjects, because he or she does not understand. This problem is so alarming that attracts special attention.

There is low interest in both teachers and students (Akinmade, 2002). This low interest could be attributed to the usual approach to teaching this practical oriented subject which is no longer enticing enough to boost the required interest. The issue in contention now is to what extent agricultural education has been assisting in bringing changes in Nigerian education system to make individuals independent and a complete being wherever they find themselves.

Disappointingly, agricultural Education which has brought innovation in Nigeria Educational System is rather receiving little or no attention in curriculum content development. In most educational institutions, agricultural education programmes are poorly handled either due to dearth of qualified staff or absence of facilities. Thus the foundation for the application of agricultural programs for skill development in the citizens has remained poorly laid, incidentally, the technology take-off of the nation has remained delayed.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Problem of Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Science in Tertiary Institutions using Sabon Gari Local Government as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To assess the factors affecting the teaching and learning of agriculture in Senior High Schools in Sabon Gari Local Government.
2. To examine the attitudes of both teachers and students of Agriculture Science.
3. To examine the background and perception of teachers and students with regards to Agriculture Science.
4. To determine the effect of agricultural practices in the society on the study of Agriculture Science.
5. To determine the status of Agriculture in the society and enhance the study of Agriculture Science in schools.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• How do teachers find the need to teach practical agriculture?
• What methods do teachers use in teaching practical agriculture?
• How does the community show interest in the students learning practical agriculture?
• What is the level of attention given to the teaching and learning of practical agriculture?
• What are the major challenges in the teaching and learning of practical agriculture?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no significant level of attention given to the teaching and learning of practical agriculture
• H1: There is a significant level of attention given to the teaching and learning of practical agriculture

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant factors affecting the teaching and learning of agriculture in Senior High Schools in Sabon Gari Local Government
• H1: There is a significant factors affecting the teaching and learning of agriculture in Senior High Schools in Sabon Gari Local Government

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1.7 Significance of Study

The study would create adequate opportunities to the Municipal Directorates of Education and other related stakeholders of education to know the challenges pertaining to Agriculture Education in Senior High Schools. This would help them in organizing in-service training to teachers at the Senior High School level.

It will benefit other researchers that may conduct further research to help improve the teaching and learning of agriculture at the senior high schools level.

The findings of the study will be helpful to school administrators whose duty is to raise the standards of the subject in their schools.

Furthermore, the study will provide insight into the challenges, if any, of the teaching and learning of agricultural science in SHS level. The issues raised in the study and the suggestions made would be beneficial in the modification of facilities and programmes to improve the existing situations in the schools.

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.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Problem of Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Science in Tertiary Institutions using Sabon Gari Local Government as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Organization of Study

The first chapter of this study deals with the introduction which covers the background of the study, the significance of the study, the delimitation and the limitation of the study. The second chapter is the review of relevant and related literature. Highlights of methods used, which comprises of the delimitation of the study area, the population and sample sizes, the instrument used for gathering the data and how the instrument was administered, are composed in the third chapter.

The fourth chapter deals with the presentation and analysis of data and finally chapter five deals with the discussion of the findings, summary, conclusion and suggestions.