Thesis (M.S.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2005. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Martin J. Frick. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-55).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 17, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis/Project (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-115). Also available via the Internet from the Humboldt Digital Scholar web site.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-152). Also available on the World Wide Web.

This thesis is the study of the activities of the Agricultural Agents of Canada. As a background to this study the history of the Agricultural Extension Services was investigated and a brief historical record presented. Following the history is a study of the methods used to contact farmers by Agricultural Agents during the ten year period 1952 to 1961. The historical record begins with the "Agricultural Instruction Act" of 1913 which led to agricultural instruction being carried out by each province. When the assistance given under this Act terminated, agricultural instruction was left the responsibility of the provincial governments, and typically, each evolved a separate section to house the Agricultural Extension Service within its Department of Agriculture. Within this section the Agricultural Agents find a great degree of individual freedom but also the responsibility of carrying out many duties, some of which relate little to extension work, and consequently, detract from their effectiveness as Agents. The activities of the Agricultural Agents during the ten years 1952 to 1961 were studied, chiefly from information given in the annual reports of the provincial departments of agriculture, and, in particular, numerical data were sought and accumulated. The numerical data were copied onto key sort punch cards and from thence built into tables for each activity, most of which fell into the three classifications Individual Methods, Group Methods, and Mass Media Methods. With the aim of detecting any changes in the methods used over the ten year period, the first five years were compared with the second five years for each method and the change expressed by the difference as a percentage of the first five years. From these changes general trends and exceptions are perceptible. The interest of farmers in extension was studied and as judged by their requests to Agents per farmer, interest increased by 19.5 per cent. However, at the same time, attendance at group events decreased. The numbers of services for farmers performed by Agents were presented in consideration of the opportunities they provide to contact farmers. The data for the number of times each method of contact was used by Agents in each province were not always complete and this imposed some limitation on the usefulness of the data. However, the number of Agents, and hence the number of times an activity was used per Agent, was available in most cases, and the calculated changes of activities per Agent are apparently indicative of the actual situation. The results of the study show that there was a slight increase of less than one per cent of individual contacts, a decrease of 15.5 per cent of meetings, and 36.7 of other group events, but a great increase in the use of mass media. On a per Agent basis, the average Agent made 5 per cent less individual contacts, organized 13.7 fewer group events, but used mass media more extensively. When the number of contacts per farmer is considered, the increases were greater because of a decrease in number of farms. Individual contacts per farm increased by 10 per cent, meetings decreased by only 7.3 per cent, and the use of mass media per farm showed a greater percentage increase than the percentage increase of mass media events. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

Between 1899 and 1910 Sir William Macdonald, tobacco millionaire and educational philanthropist and James W. Robertson, agriculturalist and educator, conducted a seed grain competition across Canada to teach new agricultural practices, and founded manual training centres to teach physical skills and aid moral development. Through the Macdonald Rural School Fund, Macdonald and Robertson established school gardens and supported nature study in eastern Canada, combining with manual training to make a useful elementary curriculum for rural children. To support these pedagogical ideas they pressed, with limited success, for rural school consolidations. Finally, they established an agricultural and teacher training college in connection with McGill University. The Macdonald-Robertson movement drew on borrowed ideas, but also trained teachers, . persuaded school boards, managed costs, and held to a consistent pedagogy through specialized object lessons. Because it treats the Macdonald-Robertson reforms together, this thesis provides a viable explanation why these two men took up the cause of reform and why the various elements of the movement succeeded or failed. I claim the reforms grew up in the first place because the Macdonald-Robertson pedagogical ideas were in the wider interest of social reformers and of the two founders. The ease with which each reform could be controlled by central administrators and implemented in a standard way from one district to the next meant Robertson would achieve "success" on some publicly believable criterion, however variable in extent, yet maintain central control. Robertson found it necessary to dedicate time and energy in persuading local districts and teachers to take up the work. Yet were it not for local autonomy, schools would have been an even easier target for a parade of politically-motivated programmes. Macdonald and Robertson's experience shows that reform must be popular and workable at the local level. Administrative talent and sound pedagogy cannot overcome local resistance if school boards, parents or teachers do not value, or cannot afford, reform. The inherent paradox of standardization and autonomy deserves to remain a hypothesis in research on educational reform. My account shows how Macdonald and Robertson sought to standardize autonomous school districts and teachers, in order to preserve the rural lifestyle, in order to help Canada on her way to economic growth and social order in the face of immigration and urbanization, and the varying extent to which regions benefited economically from industrialization. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

A partir d’une perspective empruntant aux théories réalisées dans le champ de la sociologie de l’éducation, de la sociologie rurale et aux approches traitant des rapports de genre, la thèse s’attache à saisir les enjeux du processus de féminisation des formations professionnelles de l’enseignement agricole. A l’aide d’un dispositif méthodologique combinant une analyse statistique de ce phénomène, des observations participantes, des entretiens semi-directifs, elle identifie les formes du « régime de genre » et de « l’ordre de genre » à l’œuvre dans le monde rural et agricole. Au-delà de la ségrégation interne des formations, la féminisation révèle un effet de structure. L’analyse sociologique des « expériences sociales de genre » des filles et des garçons permet d’identifier les mécanismes de reproduction des rapports de genre ainsi que leurs dynamiques. / From a perspective that draws on theories from educational sociology, rural sociology and studies of gender-related patterns, this thesis attempts to study the factors underlying and driving the feminisation of vocational training in the context of agricultural education. Using a methodology that combines a statistical analysis of the phenomenon, participant observations and semi-directive interviews, it identifies the forms of “gender regime” and “gender order” at work in the rural and agricultural world. Apart from segregated training schemes, feminisation is also seen to have a structuring effect. A sociological analysis of “social experiences of gender” by girls and boys highlights the mechanisms by which gender-related patterns are reproduced, together with their dynamics.

No description available.

Agriculture plays an important role as the basis of economic development of many countries. One of the ingredients for accelerating agricultural development is the provision of adequate knowledge through education. Schools where agricultural science is taught play an important role, but the problem that gave rise to this study is the lacking interest and poor performance in agricultural science. The main aim of this study was to investigate factors that may influence the choice of agricultural science as a school subject. In order to attain this aim, six high schools in the Temba District were sampled to represent urban, semi-urban and rural schools. All agricultural science pupils and, for purposes of comparison, forty five pupils doing physical science and twenty seven from home economics were interviewed. The overall image of agriculture appeared quite positive in that 62 percent of the students rated it as high or very high, and only the medical practitioner received a higher average status rating than the agricultural professional. The findings indicated that non-agriculture students had the most intensive association with a farming background, which seems to indicate that a close association with agriculture is a deterrent rather than an incentive to choose agriculture as a school subject. Exposure to agricultural science as a school subject appeared to increase the interest in the study of agriculture at tertiary level, although the possibility that the interest in tertiary studies in agriculture stimulated the choice of agriculture science as a school subject, cannot be ruled out. Amongst agricultural science pupils there is general agreement that agriculture provides good access to tertiary education, although physical science was rated much higher. The assessment of teachers does not favour agricultural science. Agricultural science teachers were assessed significantly lower as far as personality, teaching quality, accessibility and knowledge is concerned. However, the less the influence and assessment of the teacher, the bigger the influence of parents appeared to be. Somewhat alarming is the finding that about 20 percent of respondents claimed to have been forced to study agricultural science at school. Those that received counselling did not have a better image of agriculture, which seems to indicate that agriculture is not a field of study recommended by teachers during counselling. / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar (Extension))--University of Pretoria, 1999. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted