ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to investigate the influence of academic performance in agricultural science on the choice of vocational agriculture as a future career by students in colleges of education in North-Central Zone of Nigeria. The study made use of survey research design. Four hundred and sixty-two students were the target population who also served as samples for the study across the six states of North-Central Zone in Nigeria. Three research questions and three Null-Hypotheses were formulated. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The method of data analysis was by frequency counts, and percentages. Regression Analysis and Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC) statistics were used to test all the three null-hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Results of the null-hypotheses showed that Null hypotheses one two and three were rejected. Among the findings of the study were: choice of future career in vocational agriculture was tied to academic performance in agriculture. Low academic performance had a strong but negative influence on choice of vocational agriculture as future career. High academic performance had strong and positive influence on choice of career in vocational agriculture. It was concluded that academic performance in agriculture was major predictor for choosing vocational agriculture as a future career. Low academic performance in agriculture was a hindrance to the choice of vocational agriculture as a future career. Students that chose vocational agriculture were less in number than those students who did not choose vocational agriculture as future career. The following recommendations were made: Career guidance enlightenment campaign should be inaugurated by the college and run by agricultural education department to organise orientation, seminars, symposium, career week and others; college authority in conjunction with lecturers should encourage hard work by rewarding students having CGPA above minimum yearly with automatic accommodation in the college, laptops and many other tangible items.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Vocational and technical education is a practical based and job career skill instruction. It is any kind of education which has the main purpose of preparing individuals for employment in recognized occupation (Kennedy, 2011). The foundation of Vocational Technical Education (VTE) was based on philosophy which was mainly established for self-employment and self-reliance of individuals who partake in it (Kennedy, 2011).Vocational technical education has remained a subordinate discipline in terms of societal recognition, adequate funding and parental/children choice (Kennedy, 2011). As such, a variety of components fall under the vocational education discipline, such as agricultural education, business education, family and consumer sciences, health occupations education, market education, technical education, technology education and trade and industrial education (Benson, 1997). People within the sphere of VTE must embrace and be proud of what they are doing in spite of societal perspective to debunk any wrong notion.
Agricultural science is the study of the relationship between soils, plants and animals in the production and processing of food, fibre, fuel and any other agricultural commodities that have an economic, aesthetic or cultural value (South Africa Qualification Authority, 2003). It is an integrated science that combines the knowledge and skills from physical life, social, and earth sciences, engineering, mathematics and economics (South Africa Qualification Authority, 2003). Agricultural science aims at developing the following skills: investigate and analyse sustainable agricultural practices, indigenous agricultural knowledge and historical development, and interrelated issues in agriculture (South Africa Qualification Authority, 2003). Oberle and Keeney (1990) stated that, “agricultural science is a complex and multidisciplinary field that represents the vital link between human (socioeconomic) systems and the natural environment.” In a nut shell agricultural science is a science and art of plant and animal production to uplift the standard of living of people and society.
Agricultural education as a branch of VTE is therefore haunted by the same challenges of vocational education in not fulfilling the objectives it was designed to carry out. Agricultural education is instruction about crop production, livestock management, soil and water conservation, and various other aspects of agriculture (Olamie, 2012). The most important function of Agricultural education is to prepare youths and adults for careers in Agricultural education (Wright, 2012). The ever increasing population in many developing countries, Nigeria inclusive, has led to acute food shortages in spite of available rich agricultural resources. Realising the problems of food shortage government of most of the countries in Africa have embarked on agricultural education programmes (Olaitan, 1984). The essence of this is to educate Nigerians on how to maximise the rich agricultural resources.
The rapid growth of agricultural education began during the late 19th` century. In 1862, the United States Congress created the Department of Agriculture to gather and distribute agricultural information. The Morrill Act, which provided the land-grant schools, became law that same year (1862). The Hatch Act of 1887 gave federal funds to establish agricultural experiment stations. The first dairy school in the United States was created at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1890. Government support for agricultural education increased during the 20th century. For example, the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 created what is now the Cooperative Extension System (1988). The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 and the George-Barden Act of 1946 financed high-school instruction in farming. Woodlawn High School (Woodlawn, Virginia) was the first public high school in the United States of America to
offer Agricultural Education classes under the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. The Vocational Education Act of 1963 funded training in other fields of agriculture. Agricultural science and education expanded after 1900 in response to a need for more technical knowledge and skill. This development led to the use of modern farming methods that require fewer farm workers. Another major result of this change was the creation of larger farms and ranches. This development increased the need for more agriculture science and education (an excerpt from Olamie, 2012). In early 20th century the British Colonial Government got committed to the task of improving agricultural resources in Nigeria by carrying out a range of research studies on crops, training of agricultural staff needed for research and extension. This commitment led to the establishment of the then five schools of agriculture in Nigeria between 1920 and 1960.
The academic performance is active rather than passive acquisition. Olamie (2012) defines academic performance as how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by teachers. Academic performance is the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate the knowledge verbally or in writing down on papers (http://www.google.jan2012). A sound education can give students greater career opportunities and prepare them to make significant contribution in the chosen field (Ning-Kuang et al., 2009) Academic performance is a critical determining factor for student to exploit career choices in their fields of endeavour. Academic performance is also applicable to determine students‟ ability in exploiting career choices in agricultural education in the North- Central and Nigeria as a whole.
Esters and Bowen (2005) show that parents or guardians and friends are the primary individuals who influence students choice of a career in agricultural education, although mother or female guardian are the most influential. From the findings of Esters and Bowen (2008), on student academic performance, parents and friends can influence their choice in what decision to make of career options available either within or outside agricultural education. Therefore, low or high academic performance can inform or influence the choice of a career directly or even indirectly by second parties (parents, friends and siblings etc) Low or high academic performance can be proven by the work of Adewumi in 2011, who stated that “Reports of WAEC and NECO in 2010 showed that of the over 1.2 million candidates that sat for the SSCE and NECO examinations, the percentage of candidates who obtained a minimum of credit pass (C6) in at least five subjects including English language and Mathematics over the past few years in SSCE had been below 30% average nationwide.” As such, choice of agricultural education as career whose requirements include English and Mathematics would be affected. So also students who had got in to studying vocational agriculture are faced with challenge of mathematics, physics and chemistry related courses in their course of study.
Career can be defined as jobs and actions taken by a person throughout a lifetime, especially those related to that person's occupations. A career is often composed of the jobs held, titles earned and work accomplished (http://www.Dictionary.Com, 2012; http://www.google). Career is seen as the sum total of paid and unpaid work, learning and life roles an individual undertakes throughout life. The term „career‟ was traditionally associated with paid employment and referred to a single occupation. In today‟s world of work the term ‘career' is seen as a continuous process of learning and development (http://www.google.Myfuture, 2012). Patton and Mcmahon (2001) views career as the sequence and variety of occupations (paid and unpaid) which one undertakes throughout a lifetime. More broadly, ‘career ‘ includes life roles, leisure activities, learning and work. Patton and Mcmahon (2001) also report that when developing and presenting career education programs it is important to be aware of the context in which career development and career decision-making occur. Career decision-making is not simply matching a person to an occupation. There are many influences that impact on a person's career decisions. Career in life is only possible through preparation and training. Future career in vocational agriculture is provided through agricultural education training, a body responsible for producing future careerists. Agricultural educational training is to play a main role by providing a strong background to produce efficient farmers, researchers, educators, extension staff, agri-business professionals and others needed to achieve sustainable agricultural development (Kidane and Worth, 2012). Choosing a career therefore, is a function of training, exposure, information and interest of the students.
Colleges of agriculture and schools of agricultural education prepare students for careers in all aspects of food and agricultural systems. Some career choices include food science, veterinary science, farming, ranching, teaching, marketing, agricultural communication, management, and services. The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) South Africa, the largest National Education Association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youths and adults for careers, provides resources for agricultural education (Olamie, 2012). Choosing a career is challenging especially in vocational agriculture when student has a faint knowledge of what career is, available career options and deficient training resulting in poor academic performance. Therefore, training is the backbone to choosing career in agricultural education which is measured by performance.
Education is the most valuable legacy a nation can give to her citizens especially youths. The major purpose of any educational system is to prepare people to lead personal fulfilling and responsible lives and contribute meaningfully to the development of their society (Uzochi, 2011). People can only lead personal fulfilling and responsible lives by making appropriate career choices to make the training feasible in their various fields of endeavour. Career in agricultural education is the only riches one can call his/her own (Wright, 2012). Goecker, Whatley, Gilmore (1999) find that career in agriculture and related fields is expected to increase through 2010 in America. Jones (1999) reported, “The number of students pursuing agricultural careers had been declining since 1970s.” Likewise Zoldoske (1996) asserted, “There is an overall decline in the number of students pursuing agricultural careers through a college education.” Olaitan (1984) opines that Nigeria youths prefer white collar jobs to a career in agriculture, which is considered a dirty job. Zoldoske (1996) further states that, “nearly one-third of all agricultural job opportunities will be filled by individuals trained outside of agriculture.” Not only are problems of initial entry into agricultural careers an issue, but problems related to individuals who exit agricultural-related occupations has been the focus of recent research (Ester and Bowen, 2005).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The researcher through observations and interaction with graduates from study area discovered that, many students could not pursue a career in vocational agriculture. Some of these students ended up in Library and information Science, guidance and counselling and other education related subjects. Students in the study area have a general idea that, vocational agriculture is all about producing vocational agricultural teachers. This is not so as seen in the work of Ferrum College, Virginia in 2012; which gave career paths in vocational agriculture to include: soil conservationist, vocational agricultural teacher, extension agent, farmer/manager, agricultural scientists, sale representative, commercial loan officer and others. The students found it difficult to pursue vocational agriculture in the study area. The underlying reason for this awkward situation is the reason behind desperate search for answer on this stated problem of students‟ unwilling attitude to pursue vocational agriculture beyond NCE level. . Jones (1999) reports that, “The number of students pursuing agricultural careers had been declining since 1970s.” Likewise Zoldoske (1996) asserts that, “There is an overall decline in the number of students pursuing agricultural careers through a college education.”
It is in the light of these observations; interaction and reviewed literature that this study was initiated to examine the influence of academic performance in agricultural science on the choice of vocational agriculture as future career of students in colleges of education in North-Central States in Nigeria.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives were to:
- Determine the influence of academic performance of final year students in agricultural science on choice of vocational agriculture as a future career of colleges of education in North-Central in Nigeria.
- Determine the influence of low academic performance on choice of vocational agriculture as a future career.
- Compare the students who chose career in vocational agriculture and those who did not choose vocational agriculture as a future career.
1.4 Research Questions
Research Questions were put forward to answer the following questions:
- What is the influence of academic performance of final year students in Agricultural Science on choice of vocational agriculture as a future career in North- Central Zones in Nigeria?
- What is the influence of low academic performance of students on their choice of vocational Agriculture as future career?
- What are the students who chose vocational agriculture and those who did not choose vocational agriculture as future career?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following Null-Hypotheses were formulated or stated and tested.
- There is no significant influence between Academic performance of students in Agricultural Science and choice of Vocational Agriculture as a future career at NCE level in Colleges of Education in North- Central Zone in Nigeria.
- There is no significant influence between the students with low academic performance in Agricultural Science and choice of vocational agriculture as future career.
- There is no significant relationship between students who chose vocational agriculture and those who did not choose vocational agriculture as future careers.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The result of this research will be of importance to curriculum planners and programme planners of Vocational Agriculture in making suitable and appropriate decision on careers in agricultural education. This study will help the teachers of Agriculture towards effective handling of the students for better Academic performance to enhance their choice of career. The study will assist the students to see and exploit available career options in Vocational Agriculture. The study will help to prepare the students to see Agricultural Education beyond classroom activities. The outcome of the research will help the students to discover themselves and their environments, and their roles to make their world a better place. The study will be of immense help to the students to see why they fail and how to handle the academic challenges around them. The research will create awareness and enlightenment on appropriating various career options to choose for life in Agricultural science. The study, through discovery and awareness that will be created by the researcher during the data collection procedure shall bring about sense of fulfilment in the students in what they are doing right now, which is a stepping stone for their future vocation. The research also will train, equip and develop the researcher for the further future research studies.
1.7 Basic Assumptions of the Study
For the purpose of this study, it was assumed that:
- Academic performance in agricultural education is a major predictor for choice of vocational agriculture as a future career.
- low academic performance is the reason why choice of career in Agricultural education is difficult among the students of Colleges of Education in North- Central zones in Nigeria
- Students who chose vocational agriculture are less in number than those who did not choose vocational agriculture as future career.
1.8 Delimitation of the study
This research work was delimited to the six states namely Niger, Nassarawa, Kwara, Plateau, Kogi and Benue states of North- Central Zone in Nigeria, because these are the six states that make up the North-Central Zone. The research study was further delimited to NCE Agricultural students of 2013/2014 Academic session, because only NCE III can have a steady cumulative grade point average from their courses of study. The study was delimited to six Colleges of Education out of twelve colleges available in the six states North-Central of Nigeria. The researcher chose six colleges using purposive sampling, because of the large population of all NCE III in all twelve Colleges of Education in North-Central Zones.
