LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Impacts of Practical Agriculture.
The term practical agriculture is an umbrella word, that holds “ practical” and “ Agriculture”, this words has been defined as one by the Tokyo University of Agriculture Journal (2001) as the fundamental principle of returning man to the farm. It has also been seen as the act and practices of the various agricultural activities.
Practical agriculture has enormous impacts in secondary schools. It is generally agreed that practical work facilitates the process of acquisition of basic knowledge and practical skills that prepares students for occupation in agriculture practical agriculture in secondary schools has been a strong base where young mind students are been introduced to the interesting and practical aspect of the subject as said by Samuel .I. (2004) in his book “practical agriculture.
Practical agriculture also add to the students practical knowledge, practical agriculture makes the subject expand from just theory into a conglomeration of theory and practical, where these students have the opportunity to practice all what they have learnt in the class.
Practical agriculture also add to the students academic performance, agricultural science examination are mostly in two forms practical and theory, and the students seizes the practical aspect as an opportunity to help boost and upgrade their deficiencies in the theory aspects even the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) syllabus gives sufficient room for practical agriculture amidst other practical science subjects.
2.2 Educational Resources (Human and Material) in Teaching and Learning
Resources are fundamental and potent factor in any organisation. Owoeye and Yara (2011) maintained that it has been proven that educational resources were the most vital determinant of academic achievement. Resources in education are those basic requirements that aid and facilitate effective teaching and learning. Mmou and Olutila (2000) define instructional resources as comprising of human and non-human materials such as site building, machines, laboratory and its equipment, learners’ tools, teachers and non-teaching staff provided in the school for the purpose of administration, teaching and learning and research processes.
For the purpose of this study, educational resources are classified into personnel, physical facilities and instructional equipment and supplies. Personnel (human resources) are the lecturers and other support staff such as laboratory attendants, instructors, technologists, amongst others. Physical facilities could be considered as the entire scope of physical infrastructures such as classroom, furniture, library, laboratory/studio, model offices, and staff offices amongst others while instructional equipment and supplies are the tools that the teacher and learner use in the teaching and learning process in business education. They include computer, typewriter, photocopier, scanner, adding and calculating machines amongst others. However, Oyeniyi (2010)described educational facilities and equipment as physical resources which the school administrator and his reference group harness, allocate, utilize and maintain for the purposes of effective school administration, teaching and learning process.
Resources are very important because of its role in the achievement of educational objectives and goals. The extent to which an organization like educational institution attains her objectives is directly proportional to the educational resources available and their utilization. Hence, Adeogun and Osifila (2008) emphasized that the availability, relevance and adequacy of educational resources contribute to academic achievement and that unattractive school buildings, crowded classrooms; non availability of qualified and adequate staff can contribute to poor academic performance of students.
Effective teaching and learning cannot take place within the classroom if the basic instructional resources are not present. As observed by Ayeduso (2000), the success of a project is a function of the available resources to carry out the project.
Ayeduso added that, business education programme as a project can only be effectively implemented with adequate available educational resources. Similarly, Bongotons and Onyenwe (2010)posited that one of the pillars of a successful implementation of effective business education programme is the availability and adequacy of instructional resources. Therefore, the usefulness of school resources cannot be over emphasized as they form the basis upon which an educational institution and its products are judged by the public.
2.3 Measures for Stimulating Interest in Practical Agriculture
Since the ideal impact of practical agriculture generally can never be over emphasized, it becomes pertinent and essential to formulates or look into measures that can help stimulate the students interest to practical agriculture, and not forgetting that the teachers also have to be stimulated or better still motivated as well. Some of these measures includes:
Provision of sufficient land for school farm, the WAEC requirement for a school to be a center to its exam, especially practical subject, is the availability of the need demonstration field. The WAEC guideline (2007) demands that every school who intends to do or offer agriculture in or as part of the exam subject must have a school farm or demonstration field or farm. This forms an important base for the subject.
Appropriating marks for practical work stands on this ground that practical agriculture should be seen and the act cultivated as a course or subject requirement with an appropriated score or mark for it. Practical agriculture would be effect in secondary schools, when scores are issued for the act other than it just been as a mere practical which is a formality.
Involvement of student in the practical work is an important aspect to consider in the measures to be employed to stimulate the students. Interest, Uche (2005) emphasized that for student to develop keen interest towards practical agriculture, they (students) must be carried along but he also noted that excessive stranious exercise must be avoided as much as possible, since they are not really set for a career in agriculture yet, student involvement in practical agriculture is of great importance in carrying them along. Hindrances of attaining a sustainable practical agriculture in secondary schools.
Agriculture in generally is faced with many hindrances, challenges and bottle neck, but its great and enormous importance to man still makes it act and practices prevail over the hindrances some of these hindrances includes:
Lack of specialized man power: one of the major hindrance pointed out by the United Nations University Publication (2005) states it that in developing countries around the world, the major hindrance they face in practical agriculture is the lack of specialized man power. This statement goes along way in concurring with Ayodeji (2001) statement that for the practice subjects the major constraint remains the lack of specialized man power to handle the subject.
In most schools, there agricultural science teachers, especially in secondary schools, are not agric educators by that I mean they are not real graduate of agric education, and so would not know really the boundaries and the integrity of their job, constituting to a hindrance to a sustainable practical agriculture.
In availability land and equipment. Samuel Itodo (2004) in his book practical agriculture, maintains the stand that most schools lack school farm, and even the few that does especially in the urban areas, lack the necessary equipment for the practice. This shows that the absence of school farm, has greatly constituted to the gross impediment to a sustainable practical agriculture.
Low salary structure, this fact in modern day Nigeria has formulated or caused a drift from the teaching profession, due to low salary structures of the teachers, this goes a long way in demoralizing the teachers, and impeding the practical aspect of agriculture, with the belief that they are not valued compared to their counterparts who also went to the same school as they did. Tunde (2009) in his online article titled teaching and heavenly gift, argues that one of the persisting reason why there is brain drain in the sector is because of low insensitive to the teachers, which restrains them from given their best, and instead they channel their energy into other entrepreneurial activities, in the bid to make more money.
Perception towards the subject and occupation at large: the perception of most young mind toward the concept or subject is so disdaining, Samuel Itodo (2004) pointed out that agriculture is not exactly attractive, drudgery occasioned by crude methods, low profitability of agricultural produce compared to oil and telecom, difficulty in accessing agro-based markets among others are factors conspiring to discourage young people from agriculture. He also added that young people have a wide spreading mentality of “making it big” at a spot, which agriculture rarely guarantees. He identified all that as a problem to the attainment of a sustainable practical agriculture, students perception of farmers as one old, rough looking poor man in the rural area has greatly affected the practical aspect of agriculture at large.
In addition, the persisting and continuous use of practical agriculture as a punishment tools, has re-sharpened the original concept of practical agriculture, which has brought a backwardness to it, especially in Africa, where clearing of grasses has been seen as a direct substitute for flogging student who go against the school rules. This has so re-sharpened their mind that even when the teachers says its time for practical agriculture they tend to see it as punishment time, but when its time for other science practical time, they see it as business time.
2.4 Ways of improving the concept of practical agriculture
Despite the challenges facing practical agriculture in secondary schools, it is important to mention that there is still a way out for practical agriculture. Practical agriculture, which its importance can not be over emphasized and has been described by the Tokyo university of agriculture, as a fundamental principle of returning man to the farm and has also been seen as the only way to sustain agriculture at large can be improved on in different way which includes.
Re-vitalizing the agricultural sector in Nigeria since the discovery of oil, there has been a sharp drift from the agriculture sector and has rendered the sector handicapped. The major way of improving and enhancing the impact of practical agriculture is by addressing the problem in the sector, which ranges from funding where teachers are under paid and expected to delivery like other counterpart in other sector.
Provision of school farm in schools, ones there are provision of school farm in the schools, it becomes easy even for the supervisors to inspect the school farm and evaluate the work done and the students involvement in it. Ones there are school farm in the different schools, it would also avail the student the much needed opportunity to own and control some small farming portion, to practicalize what they have learnt in the class, and this would enhance the impact on the student and would increase their technical skills and even the chances of them willingly picking up a career in agriculture to ensure a sustainable agricultural production in the future.
Training and re-training of agric-science teachers, the teachers should also be sent for training, seminars, workshops, symposiums and the likes, this is to ensure that the teachers brings up to date information to the students, which would help spur up their interest in the subject and would also train the teacher, and avail him the opportunity to meet and mix with experts in the fixed and other colleagues in the field as well, Tunde (2009).
This chapter discusses the research design, area of study, population of the study, sampling technique, sample, instrumentation, validity of the instrument, reliability of the instrument and data collection procedure.