Strategies for Improving the Teaching of Practical Agriculture in Senior Secondary Schools in Taraba State, Nigeria
1Yaro Anthony, 1Gadu O. Idris & 3Pev Isaac
1Department of Agricultural Education, College of Education, Zing, Taraba State, Nigeria
3Taraba State Post Primary Schools Management Board, Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria
Email: zikpev@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The study was designed to determine the strategies for improving the teaching of Practical Agriculture in Senior Secondary Schools in Taraba State, Nigeria. Five research questions guided the study and five hypotheses were postulated and tested using student t – test at 0.05 level of significance. A sample size of 101 registered Agricultural Science teachers were statistically obtained using Taro Yamane formula for finite population. Random sampling technique was adopted for the study. Data was collected from respondents using validated and tested structured questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.83 based on Cronbach Alpha formula. The results of the analysis revealed that varied strategies; instructional materials and methods; and different types of Continuous Assessment can be used to improve the teaching of practical Agriculture in Senior Secondary Schools in the state. It was recommended that in teaching of practical Agriculture, teachers should activate the magnets of curiosity, knowledge and wisdom in students based on proper demonstration; varied instructional materials and relevant teaching methods. Moreover, adequate time should be allocated to practical agriculture lessons; and regular diagnostic assessment should be employed as a tool for evaluation of the students based on the fact that teaching of practical Agriculture is more than imparting Knowledge but inspiring change and learning of practical Agricultural science is more than absorbing facts but acquiring understanding.
Keywords: Practical Agriculture, Teaching, Strategies
