I have tried to organize my lecture around four points. First of all, I would like to work on some technical terms about agriculture and agricultural extension and education by a brain storming method. Thus, I will address the subject of roles and competencies in HAE. Secondly, we will discuss about some world wide challenges and problems faced to HAE system. Finally, I would like to discuss about my research which is doing now and give you some conclusions from the results of my research in this regard.
Terminology of agricultual and extension education
Extension: use of communication of information to help people from sound opinions and make good decisions(Van den Ban & Hawkins, 1996).
Extension is a professional communication intervention deployed by an institution to induce change in a voluntary behavior with a persumed public or collective utility(Rolling,1988)
Extenstion is a series of embeded communicative interventions that are meant,among others,to develop and or induce innovations which supposedly help to resoulve problematic situations(Leeuwis & Van den Ban,2004).
Agricultural extension: assistance to farmers to help them to identify and analyze their production problems and to become aware of the opportunities for improvement(Adams, 1982). Agricultural extension was once known as the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. The field of extension now encompasses a wider range of communication and learning activities organised for rural people by professionals from different disciplines.
Communication is the process by which messages are transferred from a source to a receiver.
Innovation is an idea,practice, or object perceived as a new by an individual.
Diffusion is a special type of communication. Diffusion is the process by which innovations spread to the members of a social system.
Social change is the process by which alteration occurs in the structure and function of a social system. For example: establishing a village council,adoption a new technology.
Appropriate technology: a concept that recognises the importance of matching the design of technology to the resources and culture of the user.
Participation: people's involvement in decision-making processes, in implementing programs, their sharing in the benefits of development programs and their involvement in efforts to evaluate such programs" (Cohen and Uphoff, 1979 ).
Sustainability: integrates three main goals, environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.
Sustainable agriculture: the ability of farming system to continu into the future,which allows preserving the ability to farm and produce food into the future,whithout reducing the options avaiable for following generations(Park & Seaton,1996).
Sustainable Agriculture describes an agricultural system that is simultaneously ‘‘economically viable, environmentally sound, socially just.
Monoculture: a method of growing only one crop at a time in a given field
Polyculture: is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space
Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on crop rotation, green manure, compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and control pests, excluding or strictly limiting the use of synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, plant growth regulators and hormones, livestock feed additives, and genetically modified organisms.
Globalization: process of combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces into a single society or global ones. Globalization is often used to refer to economic globalization, that is, integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology.
Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is an approach aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural people in the planning and management of development projects and programs.
Participatory technology development (PTD): This approach involves collaboration between researchers and farmers in the analysis of agricultural problems and testing of alternative farming practices. The approach is related to learning and innovation about sustainable agriculture.
Farming systems research and extension(FSRE), an approach that introduces social-economic issues into organizations by researchers and also promotes the idea on 'on-farm' trials.
Agricultural knoweledge and information system(AKIS): a system of interactions between agricultural organizations and persons, engaged in such processes as the generation, transformation, transmission, storage, retrieval, integration, diffusion and utilization of knowledge and information in agriculture to support decision making, problem solving and innovation in a given country’s agriculture (Roling,1990).
Indigenous technical knowledge: a concept that recognized the importance of local expertizing, cultural beliefs and values, and traditional wisdom.
Agricultural biodiversity is a form of general biodiversity including all cultivated varieties, i.e. modern varieties and farmer’s or traditional varieties.
Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of sustainable agricultural systems.
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, without soil
local knowledge: a locally deriven understanding based more on experience and real wordl observation(a dynamic process of acquisition and integration of contemporary information and experience) (antweiler,1998;walker,1999)
Curriculum: a list of courses offered in a school and learning experiences of students(Talbet et al. 2005).The curriculum refers to the contents and purpose of an educational program together with their organization(Walker, 1990)
Curriculum development: an art requiring application of principles to unique programs and local situations.a part of curriculum development is the preparation of courses of study(Talbet et al. 2005).
Higher education (Post-secondary or tertiary education) is education that is provided by universities, colleges, and other collegial institutions that award academic degrees.
Vocational agricultural education: as systematic instruction in agriculture at the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, or adult level for the purpose of preparing persons for initial entry or reentry into occupation in agriculture(Phipps & Osborne,1988).
Informal education is a general term for education outside of a standard school setting. It can refer to various forms of alternative education.
Supervised operational education(SOE): A system for students to apply the knowledgw and skills learned at educational institutes to real-life situations.
Competencies are defined as a dynamic combination of knowledge,skills, abilities and attitutes required by a person to carry out defined tasks at a high level of excellence (Ryan,2006)
Learning outcomes are formulated by academic staff and are statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand and or be able to demonstrate after completion of learning(Ryan,2006).
Experiential education is a philosophy of education that focuses on the transactive process between teacher and student involved in direct experience with the learning environment and content.Experimental education refers to hands-on learning.
Educational need assessment is a process for identifying the gaps between what actually is learned and what should be learned by students.
Competency-based education means an educational system, in which students learn to be experts in performing relevant skills and tasks for specific occupations.
2. Role of agricultural higher education institutes in agricultural development
Generate and disseminate new knowledge, information and technology
A systematic application of current technology and agricultural knowledge with the participation of the farming community
Train farmers, extension workers, agricultural teachers and researchers
Increase or maintain agricultural productions on a sustained basis
Prepare the graduates for responsible positions in society
provide professional and technical education for rural development
Use of university resources in different situations of economic and community:
3.What competencies are needed by agricultural graduates
Agricultural graduates need to possess different requisite characteristics. According to dlamini & dlamini (2005) the most important characteristics for agricultural gradates are:
(1) Personal attributes (motivation, confidence, leadership ability and dedication);
(2) Professional/Technical skills (production, processing, food handling and research skills; team work ability ; workshop and laboratory skills);
(3) Business and economics knowledge (e.g. accounting, budgeting, marketing, and quantitative skills, report writing, global trends, financing, and industrial relations knowledge).
(4) communication ability (listening skills, reading skills, writing skills, public speaking skills, and information technology use skills);
(5) application behavior (scientific, able to teach others, adaptive to different work situations);
(6) Agricultural experience (e.g. farm, industry, and business)
(Dlamini & Dlamini 2005 ).
Social skills such as communication, leadership skills as well as understandings of other cultures and people are important for agricultural students to possess in this highly interconnected world (Bruening and Shao 2004, 262).
in Egypt, Vreyens and Shaker (2005) indicated the following skills as having high importance though being ranked low by graduates: the ability to analyze information, speak effectively with a target audience, to apply problem-solving skills, apply time management skills, develop a basic budget, computer skills, evaluate the competitive environment and identify opportunities.
shahbazi and alibeigi (2006) revealed that to meet demands of job markets and expectations of managers in different agricultural sectors, agricultural graduates should acquire seven important competencies including: communication, professionalism, problem-solving, career ethics in agriculture, moral, administrative and management skills.
4.Challenges and constraints facing agricultural graduates regarding employment
the reasons for graduates’ unemployment in Iran :
Major challenges of agricultural education in developing courtiers that have been identified by FAO (1997) at all levels are:
Some socio-psychological factors:
Job searching , career self-efficiancy, career identity awareness, social support, social networking support, capital support, having a strong goal and commitment, Self-esteem(self-confidence), Proactive personality(initiative), boundaryless mindset(creative)
5. solutions to improve emplyment situations of the agricultural graduates
1. Link university programs to labor market
2 Adjust university competencies for employability
3 Upgrade quality of teaching programs and methods
4. Developing new strategies for Increasing Job Opportunities
5. Use the approach Competency Based-Education
Suggestions
From the problems and constraints presented above, some strategies and policies are suggested in support of the research questions:
Promote agricultural education programs which are job-oriented and meet the actual needs of the communities, the regions and the country.
Meet the needs of the private sector and preparing students for entrepreneurship.
Support and promote agreements and cooperation/coordination at inter-institutional and international levels, particularly in exchange of faculty members, students, information and experiences.
Place a greater emphasis on developing more relevant curriculum, improving the quality of instruction and promoting better institutional management.
Address local needs and adapt curricula to employment needs
Promote linkages between universities, research centers and labor markets for the creation of sub-regional or regional networks,
Support and encourage policies for employment of women agricultural graduates.
