Thesis (Ph. D. Education (Science Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The development of learners’ entrepreneurial skills in Agricultural Sciences remains as one of the crucial aspects in the midst of the high unemployment rate in South Africa. Development of these skills depends on the capacity of teachers’ instructional decisions. These skills play a significant role in the agricultural sector as this sector experiences changes in the production and marketing of agricultural products. These significant changes demand relevant skills, such as negotiation skills, critical thinking skills and creativity skills, in order to support these changes and also for school leavers to remain relevant in the 21st century. Therefore, it is against this background that the study sought to investigate teachers’ instructional decisions on the development of learners’ entrepreneurial skills in an Agricultural Sciences classroom. The social reconstructionism theory was used as a framework to guide how teaching and learning should be structured in order to develop agricultural entrepreneurial skills. The study was submersed in the exploratory mixed method approach. Purposive and systematic sampling were used to select 4 teachers and 100 Grade 12 Agricultural Sciences learners from 4 local secondary schools in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo, from whom the data were collected through the use of observational inventory and questionnaires. Interpretative analysis and a multinomial logistic regression model were used to analyse the collected data. The study found that Agricultural Sciences lessons were dominated by traditional methods for both teaching and assessment because teaching is geared towards passing control tests and examinations rather than towards the development of skills. Furthermore, a lack of professional knowledge was also visible, where lessons were not properly planned and the teachers’ inability to relate the lesson to reality was evident. It was also observed from the results of the multinomial logistic regression that other factors that influence the development of agricultural entrepreneurial skills include, among others, the type of questions asked, the learning environment and the number of practical lessons. The study further found that 68% of learners prefers to learn through interact methods other than the traditional methods. The results further indicated that learners have positive attitudes towards learning agricultural entrepreneurship and they also use iii some this knowledge in their daily activities. Therefore, as a result of this study, the researcher recommends that the Department of Basic Education, in conjunction with institutions of higher learning, provide regular workshops or training opportunities for Agricultural Sciences teachers so that they become relevant practitioners of developing learners’ agricultural entrepreneurial skills. The workshops should focus mainly on planning a lesson for a vocational subject like Agricultural Sciences, and emphasis should be placed on the type of resources relevant to the teaching of Agricultural Sciences.

The most critical hurdle on the path to sustainable development in Africa and the rest of the so-called Third World is poverty, commonly manifested as food security. A number of factors threaten food security in Zimbabwe, and these include climate change, an unstable socio-political environment and economic depression. The major debates and initiatives on sustainable development often fail to focus on the eradication of poverty in southern Africa. As a result, the trade liberalisation programmes signed by African countries in economic partnership agreements leave smallholder farmers vulnerable to the influx of hybrid seed and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which threaten local agro-biodiversity. This case study has shown that farmers select seed to plant for food as a result of various learning interactions they engage in, which include inter-generational knowledge transfer, farmer to farmer extension and external training by extension organisations and NGOs. A communities of practice (COPs) (Wenger, 2007) framework was used to gain an understanding of the learning interactions among farmers and their stakeholders in Nyanga and Marange COPs of small grain farmers in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe, who have been working with Environment Africa (A regional NGO). A critical realist causal analysis was conducted to unravel the various causal factors influencing choice. A number of underlying structures and causal mechanisms were found to influence learning interactions and choices in these communities of practice, and they include ambivalence, which influences the changing domain and practice. Climate change, drought and risk were found to affect farmer practice, while power relations affect the community, its practice, domain, sponsorship and the learning interactions in the COPs. The political economy was also found to have a profound effect on the domain and practice. A space was found for the influence of capacity and knowledge sharing in participatory frameworks of the communities, implying that extension quality can be enhanced to promote locally adapted and diverse seed varieties for food security improvement. The study shows that a deeper understanding of the mechanisms influencing the context of teaching and learning provides a more refined insight into the learning interactions and choices of farmers. This, coupled with the social processes descriptors provided by Wildemeersch (2007) has given me a more detailed understanding of the nature of learning interactions influencing farmer choices.

Orientador: Silvia Fernanda de Mendonça Figueroa / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-05T05:14:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliver_GracieladeSouza_D.pdf: 1988051 bytes, checksum: 4666eae390a7feeb3e04f2d426ae6237 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Essa tese tem por objetivo analisar o papel desempenhado pelas escolas superiores de agricultura na institucionalização das ciências agrícolas entre 1930 e 1950. As escolas analisadas foram: a Escola Superior de Agricultura 'Luiz de Queiroz', a Escola Nacional de Agronomia, a Escola Superior de Agricultura do Estado de Minas Gerais em Viçosa e Escola de Agricultura da Bahia. Para compreender qual a contribuição / papel dessas escolas no processo de institucionalização, busquei identificar como conceituaram e exerceram atividades científicas de acordo com o contexto local e com as demandas originadas a partir do processo de reconhecimento federal, iniciado em 1934. A hipótese central dessa pesquisa propõe que diferentes projetos políticos para a modernização da agricultura, encampados pelas escolas, estiveram baseados em diferentes tradições científicas. As duas supostas tradições teriam gerado dois modelos institucionais que, por sua vez, proporcionaram a formação de distintos profissionais de agronomia, especializações e um centro e uma periferia na área. A realização desse trabalho de pesquisa contribuiu para a construção de um perfil para cada escola e para a área de ciências agrícolas no período abordado / Abstract: The main objective of this doctoral thesis is to comprehend the contributions of agricultural schools in the institutionalization of agricultural sciences between 1930 e 1950. Four schools were focused in this study - the Escola Superior de Agricultura 'Luiz de Queiroz', Escola Nacional de Agronomia, Escola Superior de Agricultura do Estado de Minas Gerais em Viçosa and Escola de Agricultura da Bahia. To understand this process I turned my attention on how each school has constructed a meaning and has practiced scientifics activities. I have either observed how those meanings and practices were related to the local context and to the demands originated from the process of federal recognition that began in 1934. The main assumption of this research is that two political projects for the Brazilian agriculture were based on two scientific traditions, distinguishing two kinds of professionals, specializations and resulting on a center and a periphery in the area. At the end of this doctoral thesis it was possible to construct a profile for each school and for the agricultural sciences in the focused period / Doutorado / Doutor em Ciências

D.Phil. / The purpose of this research is to develop a curriculum framework for a distance education course in sustainable urban agriculture, whereby it is envisaged to train the trainers of urban farmers. The factors which motivated this study are mainly socioeconomic and ecological in nature and include the food crisis of the urban poor, unsustainable agricultural practices, malnutrition, starvation, health risks and high population growth in cities. Sustainability in urban agriculture implicates a need for environmental education and ecological agriculture. An exploratory and descriptive research design was used in the empirical study to determine the feasibility of an urban agriculture course through distance education. The need for Environmental Education in this course as well as the best media to use for the course were determined. Secondly, the policies and assistance by local governments to establish an infrastructure for practising sustainable urban agriculture, aimed at improving socio-economic and environmental sustainability, were determined. In both these cases a quantitative research study was undertaken, using a questionnaire as the data collecting instrument and a research survey as the method of enquiry. The sampling population was purposively selected. The questionnaires were coded and the data from the closed-ended questions was computer-analysed while data from the open-ended questions was content analysed, using Kerlinger's method of content analysis. Thirdly, a literature study was done on the educational philosophies and the philosophical base undergirding this curriculum as well as curriculum design models and sources of change, influencing this curriculum. A curriculum design model was chosen to serve as a theoretical foundation for designing an urban agriculture curriculum. Finally an empirical study with a discriptive and exploratory research design was undertaken in a qualitative research study to set the curriculum framework for a distance education course in urban agriculture.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Technology: Education, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2013. / This study is focused on the role of education to improve awareness of two critically important aspects of the South African situation 19 years after the first democratic elections in 1994. In the first instance, the study aims to augment the grades 10-12 Life Orientation curriculum to promote understanding and appreciation of land rights as human rights for every citizen in South Africa to address the social injustices of the past. In the second instance, the study focuses on grades 10-12 Agricultural Sciences curriculum to ensure that every learner who leaves school is in a position to care for land responsibly, and to use land productively for his or her own benefit and the benefit of others in the future. These foci have been informed by numerous interactions with people in four small communities on the Southern KwaZulu-Natal coast, who have been victims of landless as a result of the Group Areas act of 1960, and are claiming restitution for the land lost, and are required by law to make the restituted land productive. The study records first hand stories told about land ownership, landless, land claims, land restitution, and land (ab)use stories, in the form of narratives, such as autobiographies, auto-ethnographies, accounts of action research and self study. My research participants and I are the authors of our land stories. We tell our stories as a way of making the private public in the interests of a fair and just society. The forms of presentation include narratives, dialogues, playlets, literary references and critical reflections. The perspectives used include the native worldview, rurality as a dynamic, generative and variable milieu, the orality-literacy interface, the effect of oppression, and values and beliefs, customs and mores which (in)form a civil and civilised society. During the course of the study, the role of stories to reveal what is happening in the lives of those people most affected by unjust laws, and to empower them to take action in their own best interests became evident. The major role of education in land reforms cannot be overemphasized, which is why I have used what I have discovered from the many interactions with many people to inform two grades 10-12 school curricula: the grades 10-12 Life Orientation curriculum and the grades 10-12 Agricultural Sciences curriculum . / PDF Full-text unavailable. Please refer to hard copy for Full-text / D

This work is a school-based case study conducted amongst learners of a rural High School and the immediate community in Whittlesea in the Eastern Cape where I teach. The research was conducted by using different research methods such as worksheets, questionnaires, interviews, practical activities and observations as well as photographs to investigate three indigenous wild local vegetable food plants (imifino). The fundamental assumption of the research is that, imifino can be looked after and cared for, to become valuable vegetable food plants which can be used as supplements to the cultivated vegetable food plants (umfuno). The question was: How could this concept be brought into the curriculum? It had also been assumed that bringing knowledge of imifino into curriculwn contexts could be of benefit to South African learners. The study produced a variety of findings: • There is a general feeling that those who eat imifino are the poor. • There is a lack of interest among women interviewed in the preparation process, for example going to pick the food plants from the fields, washing them and preparing the leaves as food. • AmaXhosa males look upon eating imifino with contempt. • Some males among the younger generation are beginning to overlook tradition and are eating imifino. • Inclusion of indigenous agricultural knowledge in the curriculum was supported by learners and community members. Learners have interest in knowing about indigenous food plants. • Learners feel as Africans that they must learn about the indigenous food plants in school in order not to lose knowledge of these plants completely. • The study also identified that interpretation of learning outcomes with an indigenous knowledge focus, requires careful attention to socio-cultural factors, and not just technical/ practical factors. Previous knowledge of learners and community members about imifino was mobilized to develop a sample OBE learning programme unit (LPU /Lesson plan) for the Grade 10 FET of Agricultural Science curriculum. The case study illustrates that Learning outcome 3 of the Agricultural Science subject can be achieved if educators involve learners and community members in developing learning programmes.

Agriculture is one of the most important economic activities, with significant contribution to food security, job creation and gross domestic product (GDP) in many countries. Due to the historical inequalities in the distribution of farming land, agriculture in South Africa has been divided into commercial agriculture and subsistence agriculture. The end result are inequalities in the distribution of land, skills and wealth, with the majority of South Africans living in poverty, being illiterate and with no skills. The newly elected democratic Government has since 1994 attempted to address these inequalities. Among the programmes introduced to skill farmers was the launch of the Agricultural Education and Training (AET) Strategy. The aim of AET was to improve Agricultural production through quality agricultural education and training, and thereby addressing the needs of the country’s economy. Adult in-service training was introduced at agricultural institutions. It is now mandatory for the management of agricultural institutions providing in-service training to skill their workers. Yet there is still no clear understanding of how the farmers, managers and supervisors benefit or do not benefit from their employees’ in-service training. This lack of information has been of concern to the farm managers, training providers, sponsors and other stakeholders. Apart from frequent discussions, little has so far been written on the subject. In particular, there is little known about the role of management of the adult in-service training at the agricultural institutions. The aim of this research was to explore the role of the management of in-service training of adult learners at an agricultural institution with the objective of providing the needed information. The qualitative research approach, using grounded theory, was employed because of its suitability to the study. Information was collected from the participants using both in-depth open-ended questions and focus groups interviews. The data analysis was achieved by using the ATLAS ti. The aim was to provide an in-depth understanding of people’s experiences in the agricultural industry, especially at the two sampled agricultural institutions, both situated in Gauteng. vi The lack of evaluation of the Adult in-service training project was found to be the main reason why there is still no clear understanding of how the farmers, managers and supervisors benefit or do not benefit from their employees’ in-service training. The problem of lack of evaluation was related to the level of literacy of the adult in-service learners, who preferred practical training to theoretical training. At the same time, the farm managers, training providers, sponsors and other stakeholders are anxious to know the training progress results. The knowledge of training progress is also needed for the implementation of improvements or financial sponsorship. This research therefore recommends, among others, that evaluations be carried out among the adult in-service learners in such a manner that both the adult learners and the other stakeholders are satisfied. It is, therefore, essential that the role of management of the Adult in-service training agricultural institutions be well defined, so as to fulfil the purpose of these in-service institutions of skilling the trainees to be productive agricultural farmers for the benefit of agricultural production in South Africa. / Temothuo ke nngwe ya ditirwana tsa botlhokwa tota tsa ikonomi, tse di nang le seabe se segolo mo netefatsong ya lotseno lwa dijo, go tlhola ditiro mmogo le go Palogotlhe ya Dikumo tsa Naga (GDP), mo dinageng di le dintsi. Ka ntlha ya hisitori ya go sa lekalekane mo kabong ya lefatshe la temo, temothuo mono Aforikaborwa e ne ya aroganngwa ka mapahata a le mabedi, e bong temothuo e e totileng kgwebo le e e totileng go iphedisa fela. Kwa bofelong re feleditse ka go sa lekalekaneng ga kabo ya lefatshe, bokgoni le khumo, fao bontsi jwa Maaforikaborwa ba tshelelang mo khumanegong, ba sa rutega e bile ba se na bokgoni. Puso ya demokerasi e e tlhophilweng sešwa, e sa le e leka go mekamekana le go sa lekalekaneng go, go simolola ka 1994. Gareng ga mananeo a a itsisitsweng go neela balemi bokgoni, ke kgakolo ya Leano la Thuto le Thupelelo malebana le Temothuo (AET). Maikaelelo ka AET e ne e le go tokafatsa kumo ya Temothuo ka mosele wa thuto le thupelelo ya boleng, ka jalo go mekamekanwe le ditlhokwa tsa ikonomi ya naga. Go itsisitswe thupelelotirong ya bagolo kwa ditheong tsa temothuo. Gajaana, bolaodi jwa ditheo tsa temothuo bo gapelediwa go neela thupelelotirong gore badiri ba ditheo tse, ba nne le bokgoni. Le gale, ga go ise go tlhaloganyege sentle gore balemerui, balaodi le batlhokomedi ba ungwa go le kae, kgotsa ga ba ungwe jang, malebana le thupelelotirong ya bathapiwa ba bona. Tlhokego e ya tshedimosetso, e tshwentse balaodi ba dipolase, bakatisi, baetleetsi mmogo le banaleseabe. Ga go a kwala go le gontsi malebana le setlhogo se, go fitlha gajaana. Go feta fa, ga go itsiwe seabe sa bolaodi malebana le thupelelotirong ya bagolo mo ditheong tsa temothuo. Maikaelelo a tlhotlhomisi e e ne e le go leba seabe sa bolaodi mo thupelelotirong ya baithuti ba bagolo kwa ditheong tsa temothuo, ka maikaelelo a go neela thsedimosetso e e tlhokegang. Molebo wa patlisiso wa diteng o dirisitswe ka ntlha ya bomaleba jwa ona mo tlhotlhomising e. Go kokoantswe tshedimosetso go tswa go batsaakarolo, go dirisiwa dipotso tse di tseneletseng mmogo le tse di sa tsenelelang jalo, le dipotsolotso tsa ditlhopha tse di totilweng. Kanaanelo ya datha e fitlheletswe ka go dirisa ATLAS ti. viii Maikaelelo e ne e le go neela tlhaloganyo e e tseneletseng ya maitemogelo a batho mo industering ya temothuo, bogolosegolo ditheo tse di supilweng tsa temothuo, bobedi jwa tsona bo le mo Gauteng. Lebakalegolo la gore go bo go se na tlhaloganyo e e edileng ya gore balemerui, balaodi le batlhokomedi ba ungwa jang kgotsa ga ba ungwe jang malebana le thupelelotirong ya badiredi, ga le ise le tlhake. Matsapa a go tlhoka tekanyetso a tsalana le maemo a borutegi a baithuti ba bagolo ba thupelelotirong, ba ba neng ba eletsa thupelelotirong ya tiragatso e seng ya tiro. Ka nako yona e balaodi ba dipolasa, batlamedi ba thupelelo, baetleetsi mmogo le banaleseabe, ba fela pelo go itse dipholo tsa thupelelo. Kitso ya tsamao ya thupelelo e bile e tlhokega malebana le tiragatso ya tlhabololo mmogo le ketletso ya tsa matlhole. Tlhotlhomisi e, ka jalo, gareng gat se dingwe e tshikhinya gore, gareng gat se dingwe, tlhotlhwafatso e dirwe mo baithuting ba bagolo ba thupelelotirong ka tsela e e tlaa kgotsofatsang baithuti ba bagolo mmogo le ba na le seabe. Ka jalo go botlhokwa gore seabe sa ditheo tsa bolaodi jwa katiso ya bodiredi jwa temothuo jwa Bagolo, se lebiwe sentle, gore se kgotsofatse maikaelelo a ditheo tse tsa katisotirong ya ditheo tse, e maikaelelo a yona e leng go nonotsha bakatisiwa go nna balemirui ba ba tlhololo go ungwa temothuo mo Aforikaborwa. / Ezolimo zingomunye wemisebenzi yezomnotho ebaluleke kakhulu, kanti zibambe iqhaza elisemqoka ekutholakaleni kokudla, ukudala amathuba omsebenzi nakusambamkiqizo wezwe (GDP) emazweni amaningi. Ngenxa yomlando wokungalingani ekwabeni umhlaba wezolimo, ezolimo lezi eNingizimu Afrika sezehlukaniswe zaba ngezolimo zokuhwebelana, nezolimo zokungadliwa ekhaya. Umphumela walokhu kube ukungalingani ekwabiweni komhlaba, amakhono, nomnotho, nokuba iningi lezakhamizi zaseNingozimu Afrika liphile ngobumpofu, ukungakwazi ukufunda nokubhala nokungabi namakhono. Uhulumeni omusha wentando yeningi, kusukela ku-1994 ubuzama ukubhekana nalokhu kungalingani. Kwezinye zezinhlelo ezisunguliwe ukuhlomisa abalimi ngamakhono kube ukwethula iNdlela Yokufundisa Nokuqeqesha kwezolimo (Agricultural Education and Training [AET] Strategy). Injongo ye-AET ukwenza ngcono imikhiqizo yeZolimo ngokufundisa nokuqeqesha kwezolimo okusezingeni eliphakeme, ngalokho kubhekanwe nezidingo zezomnotho ezweni. Kwaqalwa ukuba kube nokuqeqeshwa kwabadala okwenzelwa ezikhungweni zezolimo. Sebephoqelekile manje abaphathi bezikhungo zezolimo eziqeqeshela emsebenzini ukuba bahlomise abasebenzi babo ngamakhono adingekayo. Noma kunjalo akukho ukuqonda kahle ukuthi abalimi, izimenenja nababhekile bazuza noma abazuzi kanjani ngokuqeqeshelwa emsebenzini kwabasebenzi babo. Ukungatholakali kolwazi lwalokhu kuyazikhathaza izimenenja zamapulazi, abaqeqeshi, abaxhasi nabanye ababambe iqhaza. Ngaphandle kwezingxoxo ezihlale ziba khona, kuze kube manje kuncane osekubhaliwe ngalesi sihloko. Ikakhulu kuncane okwaziwayo ngeqhaza labaphathi (izimenenja) bokuqeqeshelwa emsebenzini kwabafundi abadala ezikhungweni zezolimo. Inhloso yalolu cwaningo-ke bekungucubungula ngeqhaza labaphathi bezikhungo zokuqeqeshela abafundi abadala emsebenzini ezikhungweni zezolimo, inhloso kungukuba kuhlinzekwe ngolwazi oludingekayo. Lapha bekusetshenziswa indlela yocwaningo egxile emsocweni (qualitative) kusetshenziswa ithiyori ezinzile (grounded) ngoba lokhu kuyezwana nalolu cwaningo. Ulwazi oludingekayo beluqoqwa kwababambe iqhaza kusetshenziswa imibuzo ejulayo x kodwa evulekile, nokuba kubuzanwe namaqembu ebekugxilwe kuwo. Imininingwane etholakele ibihlaziywa ngokusebenzisa i-ATLADS TI. Injongo bekungukuba kutholakale ukuqonda okujulile ngalokho abedlula kukho abantu embonini yezolimo, ikakhulu ezikhungweni zezolimo ezimbili eziqokiwe, zombili eziseGauteng. Ukungenzeki kokuba kuhlolwe izinga lephrojekthi yokuqeshelwa emsebenzini kwabadala kwatholakala kuyikhona okuyisizathu esiphambili sokuba kuze kube manje kungacacile ukuqonda ukuthi ngabe abalimi nezimenenja bayazuza yini noma abazuzi lutho ngalokhu kuqeqeshelwa emsebenzi kwabasebenzi. Inkinga yokungabi bikho kwalokhu kuhlolwa kwezinga kuhambisana nezinga lokwazi ukufunda okubhaliwe nokubhala kwabafundi abadala abaqeqeshelwa emsebenzini, ababethanda kakhulu ukuqeqeshwa kokwenziwayo kunalokho okuyithiyori. Kanti ngaso leso sikhathi izimenenja zepulazi, abaqeqeshi, abaxhasi nabanye ababambe iqhaza kulo msebenzi banexhala ngokwazi imiphumela yokuqhubekela phambili kwalokhu kuqeqesha. Ukwazi ngokuqhubeka kokuqeqesha kuyadingeka futhi ukuze zenziwe ngcono ezinye izinto, noma kuhleleke nokutholakala kwabaxhasa ngezimali. Ngakho-ke lolu cwaningo, ngaphezu kwezinye izincomo, luncoma ukuthi kuhlolwe izinga kubafundi abadala abaqeqeshwayo ngendlela yokuba bagculiseke abafundi abadala nabanye ababambe iqhaza kule phrojekthi. Kubalulekile-ke ukuba uchazwe kucace kahle umsebenzi wabaphathi bezikhungo zezolimo zokuqeqeshela abadala emsebenzini, ukuze kufezeke izinhloso zalezi zikhungo zokuqeqeshela emsebenzini mayelana nokuhlomisa abaqeqeshwayo ngamakhono ukuze bagcine sebengabalimi abakhiqiza okomkhakha wezolimo okuzosiza iNingizimu Afrika yonkana. / Science and Technology Education / D. Phil. (Education)

This thesis is about agricultural extension education. The context is agricultural extension in South Africa. It addresses the following questions: To what extent does current agricultural extension education in South Africa adequately reflect the current and changing educational and developmental imperatives? To what extent does it adequately equip extension officers and other agricultural development practitioners to deliver relevant support to farmers and farming communities? In short, how relevant is the training received by South African Agricultural Extension practitioners? The South African government has made significant changes in the policy environment governing agriculture. While the majority of the policy changes fall outside the scope of this research, it can be safely argued, as noted in the current Strategy for South African Agriculture, that the changes are fundamental. The changes redirect agriculture to the majority population which has hitherto been marginalised and generally denied meaningful access to the agricultural sector of the South African economy. To implement these changes, the agricultural sector will need appropriate skills – skills which, it is submitted – are largely lacking within the agricultural extension service and, more relevantly to this study, in Agricultural Extension curricula. In addition to the foregoing, assumptions about farmers and their roles in technology and information creation and consumption, assumptions about the roles of tertiary institutions in the triad of teaching, extension and research and indeed about the triad itself need to be challenged. A system of education which has its origins in the 1800s (before even the industrial revolution, much less the digital revolution) needs, per force, to be interrogated regularly to ensure that it delivers according to the demands of the exigencies of the time. Similarly, assumptions about the aim of development and in particular agricultural development have been questioned in many parts of the world. And yet it is submitted that in South Africa, the basic extension methodologies have not changed in any fundamental way; rather they have adopted some of the outer trappings of new approaches, without assessing the fundamentals of the core extension approach. It is believed that extension is in need of a serious review and that it is timely to do so. Recent research in Africa and elsewhere in the world indicates that extension needs be reconstructed on a different set of operational objectives led by a different vision. The extension strategy herein presented is built around a vision which places the focus on the farmer (and other land users) in the context not of technology, but of creating prosperity. The vision implies that the purpose of agricultural extension is to facilitate the establishment of self-reliant farmers who are contributing to widespread prosperity. The dual outcomes of self-reliant farmers and widespread prosperity are meant to be realised through a new set of =rules of engagement‘. Prosperity is derived out of farmers working together, sharing information, and learning together. Self-reliant farmers are an outcome of a learning partnership between farmers and extension practitioners. This study was conducted in a series of stages. The first thrust examined the nature of Agricultural Extension and the assumptions on which it is predicated. The result of this interrogation was to propose a new concept for Agricultural Extension – Agriflection – which is a learning-based concept aimed at improving the sustainability of the livelihoods of farmers through iterative development processes fostered through a learning agenda that is facilitated by an appropriately trained Agricultural Extension practitioner. To realise such a vision, it is essential that the mission of the extension service be recast to reflect the dynamics of the implications of the vision. The key elements of the mission are, therefore, client-responsiveness and partnerships. The power to realise the vision rests in three critical aspects. First is the capacity of the extension service to engage with its clients as genuine partners in a shared learning agenda. The second is the capacity of the extension service to engage with the many other agencies and organisations which supply goods and services to farmers and land users. The third is ensuring that engagements with farmers support sustainable development, that is, that production of food, fibre and fuel is socially just, economically sustainable and environmentally sustainable. This new vision and mission lay the foundation for a fundamental shift in the way agricultural extension is positioned, resourced, implemented and evaluated. The strategic goals, principles and values presented in this strategy are built on this foundation, and they, in turn, create the framework for constructing the operational plans of the extension service as well as for management and measurement of the service. The second thrust of the study was to filter the Agriflection concept through South African educational and agricultural policy. Given that the agricultural frontier is subject to change in focus and priorities, it was reasoned that the training and education of would-be extension practitioners needs to be able to respond to changes in methods and in the field. The National Government has adopted the outcomes-based model as the general structure for curriculum development. Further sustainable development/livelihoods has been adopted as the general framework for development. Outcomes-based education and sustainable development/livelihoods provide a framework for studying and developing curricula. A tool that enables curriculum analysis and development which allows for adjustment to changing imperatives while maintaining integrity in terms of education and development, would be valuable for tertiary institutions training extension officers. The result of this second thrust was the development of curriculum markers that encapsulated what non-technical knowledge and skills (i.e. Agricultural Extension knowledge and skills) were needed to be able to deliver on the imperatives of the transformation agenda of current agricultural policy. Thirty-four markers were identified. The third thrust of the study was to create a credible method to evaluate Agricultural Extension curricula and to capture and analyse data. A detailed review of methods and approaches was made resulting in fashioning the Theory-led Instructional-Design Curriculum Evaluation (TICE) method. One of the primary facets of this six-process method is questioning of the assumptions on which the discipline of Agricultural Extension is based. Such a questioning would lead to a new theory to govern the evaluation of curriculum. Ancillary to the TICE method were the methods of data collection and analysis. The study consolidated these in presence and efficacy factors. These factors measured the presence of the 34 markers in Agricultural Extension curricula and the extent to which they were addressed, if present. The fourth thrust of the study was the detailed evaluation of curricula of qualifications most commonly held by public sector Agricultural Extension practitioners. The study examined the curricula of agricultural diplomas, of three- and four-year agricultural degrees and of one-year postgraduate qualifications offered by Colleges of Agriculture and selected Universities and Universities of Technology. The fifth thrust was to conduct corroborative investigations in the public sector. This was done by surveying Agricultural Extension practitioners asking them to evaluate the extent to which they believed they have knowledge and/or skill represented by the 34 curricula markers. In addition, a brief analysis was made of Agricultural Extension practitioner job descriptions used in the public sector. This was done to determine what knowledge and skills were expected of Agricultural Extension practitioners and comparing this to the 34 markers. The study revealed that there is very limited Agricultural Extension training offered in the curricula of qualifications held by the majority of public sector Agricultural Extension practitioners. Further, using the 34 markers as the touchstone, it was determined that the current curricula do not adequately equip public sector Agricultural Extension practitioners to deliver on the agenda of current South African agricultural policy. Without extensive revision of curricula in terms of both the quantity and content of extension training, the South African public sector Agricultural Extension service will not be able to realise the intended transformation of agriculture. Its key operatives will not have the knowledge and skills needed to do so. This is a unique study. No study of its kind has ever been conducted in South Africa. Numerous studies have been conducted into the training needs of Agricultural Extension practitioners. None have gone to the extent of questioning the assumptions on which Agricultural Extension is based. None have made a critical examination of curricula in the light of current educational and agricultural policy. This study found that there is an urgent need for serious attention to be given the purpose, scope, outcomes of Agricultural Extension higher education in South Africa to ensure that it can contribute to the positive and sustainable transformation of agriculture. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.