Philosophies in Agricultural Education

Philosophy refers to the study of general and essential problems that pertains certain matters such as knowledge, values, existence, mind, reason, and language. Philosophy was considered to be love for wisdom that made the philosophers search for the truth in various questions that varies in setting (Moore, 1988). Philosophy is important as it provides clear information on what has been done especially in agricultural education where it was massively influenced by the pragmatic movement.

Q1

I.

Agricultural education to students is important despite the given level of learning. In order to achieve the objective of learning the students have a role to play as well as the expectations. First of all, students have to be active participants in the program which means that they should contribute to the discussions held by not only answering what was the teacher asks but also other questions posed by their peers (Boone et al, 2002). In order to make the whole learning interesting, they should be free to express their own ideas and suggestions about the topic to their teacher and the peers as well. The expectation of the students is to be better than they actually joined the learning program. This means that they are at a better position in the agricultural fields as they have the relevant knowledge required in the field. Their expectations are acquired new and different techniques, innovative marketing, new agricultural laws and regulation, new farm techniques and gain the knowledge to increase and enhance managerial skills and efficiency in agricultural production (Boone et al, 2002).

II.

Teachers have a great role to play in educating the students as there are different philosophies to address that have a different approach. This means that a teacher has to formulate a plan of making sure that the students are aware of the different philosophies and what entails in each and how they all address agricultural education (Boone et al, 2002). In order to avoid the conflict of philosophies a teacher has a big mandate of drawing both the value and the criticism of the philosophy so that the learner can have a neutral ground of deciding which to follow.  The teacher’s expectation is to meet the diverse ideology and practice to the students, encourage more involvement of agricultural education to the students as well as deliver the opportunities to the students (Boone et al, 2002).

III.

The teaching process refers to the general pedagogy, principles and management strategies that should be used in a learning environment. The teaching process mostly depends on the type of philosophy and the subject matter to be taught. The approaches include the teacher-centered approach and the student-centered approach. Progressive philosophy will be administered to the students through a teacher-centered approach whose primary role of the students is to receive information. This is because it is the area and the philosophy that the teacher is well acquainted in with direct instructions. The learning of the students is measured through the scores of assignment and tests. For liberal and behavioral philosophy student-centered approach will be the most effective. This is because the philosophies are different from what the teacher acknowledges. It will play a significant part as this model will enhance an equal play from both parties. It encourages active learning of group projects, class participation, and class portfolio. It involves inquiry-based learning of the facilitator, personal model and the delegator and cooperative learning.

IV.

The behavioral management theory addresses the behavior issue that one should understand and more importantly what are its causes. The philosophical school of thought believes that a teacher should not react to behaviors but should be proactive and take preventive measures. It is important to meet the basic student’s expectations because when they are not met there is no hope of the curriculum teaching (Howell, 2012). For the secretary of education liberal philosophy is founded on the basis of equality and liberty. This means that equality is important and there should be freedom of speech, free market, and international cooperation. It implies that the agricultural students should be given equal chances as they have a chance to choose what they want without being intimidated (Howell, 2012). For a teacher progressive philosophy is based on the idea of progress that emphasizes on the advancement to find the roots of education to present experience. It focuses on expeditionary, experiential learning, integrated curriculum, critical thinking and problem solving. The teacher creates lifelong learning and social skills through evaluation of the project and production (Howell, 2012).

Q2

The philosophies offer a different approach to agricultural education. This causes conflicts in the learning process of the students which mean that there should be rules and regulation attached to the learning program (Smith, 1991). As a way of resolving and minimizing the conflicts brought about by the approaches, it is important to have a strategic plan. The strategic plan will help in remaining true to my progressive approach and enhance respect for the other approaches. The strategic plan will involve a definition of the mission statement that will help in blending in the philosophies, identification of the curriculum goals and the objectives of the goal to achieve in learning and teaching (Grimes, 1991).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Boone, H. N. Gartin, S.A.,  Wright,C. B., Lawrence L. D., & Odell, K. S. (2002).ADULT EDUCATION PHILOSOPHIES PRACTICED BY AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN PENNSYVANIA, VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. West Virginia University

Dr, Howell, R. T. (2012). Journal of Industrial Teachers Education. Virginia Tech.

Grimes, M, J. (1991). Stands for nothing-Fall for Anything. University of extension

Moore, G. E. (1988). A philosophy primer for agricultural educators. The Agricultural education magazine decemmber, 1988; vol. 61: Num. 6

Smith, K. L. (1991). PHIlosophy diversions-which road. Extension journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315.