The Discipline Called Agricultural Education. Professorial Inaugural Lecture Series.

Overview & Synopsis

A historical perspective of agricultural education is needed in order to understand its role in the future. Agriculture as a science did not exist prior to the 19th century. The Morrill Act contributed greatly to this development. With the realization that higher education could serve persons interested in the agricultural and mechanical arts came a system of public institutions of higher education called the land-grant colleges. Today, agricultural science is a mainstay in the higher education system within and beyond the land-grant institutions. With the advent of baccalaureate instruction in agriculture, however, came a new struggle--the struggle between science and practice. The establishment of education as a specific discipline, a related development, is somewhat obscure. Education as a discipline is the field of study that concerns itself with the principles and methods of teaching and learning. Agricultural education as a discipline is relatively new. These premises are central to agricultural education: (1) agricultural education involves application in real settings; (2) practice is based on theory; (3) agricultural education serves as the bridge between agricultural science and the other disciplines; (4) agricultural education principles should be the foundation for education in agriculture; (5) agricultural education is not multidisciplinary; and (6) professionals in agricultural education must enter a period of self-examination to determine what agricultural education ought to be. (22 references.) (KC)