The numerous influences which are so greatly changing rural life in America are having their effect upon the farm shopwork which farmers perform. New farm machines and tools are being introduced and used, causing the farmer to learn new operations and to acquire new skills in the maintenance, repair and use of this equipment. The farm shop is becoming an essential part of every farm. In order to carry on the farming business more economically, and thereby meet competition which is necessary in present day farming, the farmer must know how to properly use his farm mechanics needs to the best advantage.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of selected socio-demographic variables and attitudinal variables on membership vs. non-membership in the FFA. The groups under investigation were 602 black tenth grade vocational students from 66 high schools in five former NFA states. Criteria for selection of high schools were: (a) must have a high school vocational agriculture program; and (b) must have at least 10 per cent black enrollment in vocational agriculture. Data collected from the sample groups were primarily analyzed using chi-square tests between members and non-members. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation (r) coefficient was used to determine the relationship between percentage black FFA membership and percentage black vocational agriculture enrollment. Responses between FFA members and non-members differed significantly in nine of the sixteen variables. FFA members are more likely to attend rural schools, be children of farmers, live in areas of less than 2,500 population, believe that anyone can be successful in FFA, and respect farmers and farming than vocational agriculture students who are not FFA members. No significant difference between members and non-members could be found on the following variables: the name of the organization, the attitudes toward agriculture, race of student and his/her advisor and reasons for enrolling in vocational agriculture. Fifty-two percent of the students sampled were FFA members. A significant relationship was found between percentage black vocational agriculture enrollment and percentage black FFA membership. / Ed. D.

Advisory councils are being used in the fields of both business and education today. The vocational fields have increasingly made use of advisory councils in the organization of instruction content, selection of trainees and the placement of men trained in various occupations. At the present time there is considerable discussion among professional men in the field of vocational agriculture concerning the desirability of using advisory councils. Much has been written and several studies have been make concering the organiation and proper use of advisory councils. This problem at the present time calls for additional study and evaluation.

Vocational agriculture had its birth in Utah rural high schools in the spring of 1918. It is a program for training present and future farmers for proficiency in agriculture. The instruction in Utah, as in most states, has been devoted to the training of all-day (high school) students. Since 1918 considerably over one million dollars of federal, state and local funds have been expended for all-day instruction in vocational agriculture in Utah. The primary objective of the program is to train these boys to become farmers or farm leaders. From time to time the following questions have been asked: Do all-day students ever become farmers? If so, are they the poorer students of the high shcool? What percentage of former all-day students are remaining in rural communities? What percent of all-day students go to college? These and numerous other questions have been asked by taxpayers, school patrons, high school principals, county school superintendents, agricultural leaders, and others who are concerned with the education of farm youth. The state director of agricultural education and the teachers of vocational agriculture in the various districts in Utah have answered these questions as intelligently as possible with the information available. Their answers were necessarily very subjective and based on personal opinion. The state director of agricultural education and many of the teachers of vocational agriculture sensed the need of an objective study concerning former students. The vocational agricultural program had been in existence for more than 20 years, and no check up had been made in this regard. As far as the state as a whole was concerned the program was like a clock without hands; it was running, but no one knew the time in terms of results as they were related to the obejctives of the program.

Since its beginning well over a quarter of a century ago, the Vocational Agriculture program has become an integral part of the American school system. The legislative groundwork for Vocational Agriculture, as well as all other vocational programs, was set in 1917 with the passing of the Smith-Hughes Act. Further related legislation was passed in 1929 and 1934, but the program received its greatest federal boost with the passing of the George-Deen Act in 1936 and the George-Barden Act in 1946, both of which provided for the annual expenditure of federal funds in support of vocational education. The George-Barden Law, although it includes appropriations from the former bill, provides a total of approximately $29,000,000 for the support of vocational education. This is the maximum. allowance, however, am all of it will not be expended unless an actual need exists. With the $7,200,000 appropriated under the original Smith-Hughes Law, the total authorization available now reaches approximately $36,050,000 with agriculture being allocated $13,000,000 of this amount. This includes only the federal provisions. In agriculture alone the total expenditures from federal, state, and local sources increased from $21,293,343 in 1946 to $47,490,397 in 1953. (3, p. 10)

No description available.

The researcher focused on the numerous elements that led to an organized state supported system of Agricultural Education in South Carolina. Emphasis was placed upon the secondary school program, but the various contributing events leading to the formal study of Agricultural Education were identified and examined. Many historical studies of 20th century Agricultural Education focus on the impact of the Smith-Hughes legislation. Upon deeper investigation, the Palmetto State can credit numerous influential factors that provided forms of agricultural instruction prior to 1917. The 18th and 19th century agricultural societies provided a clearinghouse for the socialization and sharing of experimental farming techniques by progressive agriculturalists. John C. Calhoun and his son-in-law Thomas Green Clemson, benefactors of Clemson Agricultural College, were members of the Pendleton Farmers Society. Support for agricultural research came one year prior to the federal Hatch Act. The Hatch Act of 1887, followed by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, assisted in providing fertile conditions for community recognition and need for Agricultural Education. Prior to the Smith-Lever Act, South Carolina was active in attempts to infuse Agricultural Education into the public school system and rural communities. A series of demonstration trains traversed the state providing first hand opportunities for individuals to examine the revelations in agricultural techniques. A series of agricultural clubs, including boy's corn clubs, pig clubs, and even demonstration farms on schoolhouse grounds linked Agricultural Educators with school students. Prior to the Smith-Hughes method of vocational agriculture, students in sections of the state received textbook-based instruction in agriculture. Passage of the Smith-Hughes legislation in February 1917 was the catalyst that created a form of Agricultural Education recognized even in the 21st century. The rapid propagation of high school programs throughout the state created an immediate demand for teachers of Agricultural Education. Clemson College, still in its infancy, quickly arose to provide a new program to train collegiate students to become what were then referred to as "Smith-Hughes men." Specific objectives investigated and analyzed by the researcher included: 1. Describing the development of Agricultural Education in South Carolina prior to 1900. 2. Documenting the development of Agricultural Education in South Carolina from 1900-1945. 3. Documenting the redefining of Agricultural Education in South Carolina from 1946-1990. 4. Describing the development of the teacher-training program for Agricultural Education in South Carolina. 5. Documenting the development of administrative and supervisory provisions for the vocational agriculture programs for South Carolina. 6. Describing the historical events that led to the founding of the Future Palmetto Farmers and evolution of the Future Farmers of America in South Carolina. / Ph. D.