Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1956

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Agriculture

Abstract

Farms today are mechanized to a stage which would have been termed impossible two generations ago. In training the farmers of tomorrow it is the responsibility of the vocational agriculture teacher to prepare the boys to meet the challenge of this mechanized age of farming. Present complexity, new machines, new problems, and new skills to be learned and acquired are challenges which must be met by the teacher and the boy to make him a better farmer than his father before him. In teaching farm mechanics there are hundreds of major and minor skills in which a teacher must be proficient. How to best acquire these skills is of concern to all. They will not all be acquired before college nor is there time in college to give training in all these skills. Certainly a teacher cannot be expected to acquire these skills while teaching. From the writer’s own experience and in talking with teachers of vocational agriculture, it is quite probable there are areas and jobs in which the training is inadequate on the college level. There are, of course, limitations on the time that can be spent in farm mechanics courses in college. Also to be considered is the fact that many instructors have had training in certain job areas before entering college. Where a great majority have this training it would seem inefficient to require it in college. Further, have the college courses in farm mechanics kept pace with the increased mechanization of the modern farm? As progress is made courses will become obsolete and must be discontinued. New ones, to better fill the need, will be added to the curriculum. A teacher of vocational agriculture is expected to be proficient in a broad field of farm mechanics jobs and related abilities. How best to meet that requirement is the planned outcome of this study. The purpose of this study is to determine the importance of pre-service training in farm mechanics jobs for college students majoring in vocational agriculture.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Agriculture -- Study and teaching

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

35

Publisher

South Dakota State University

Rights

No Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Only
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/

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