Agricultural Literacy for an Adult Audience
From Adult Education
Created by Rob Elliott and Amanda Evert Fall 2009
Contents |
Introduction
The need for agricultural literacy is becoming increasingly evident (Hagins, 2001). Without agricultural literacy there is a potential threat to a nation "...when a majority of a nations' population lacks a basic understanding of the industry which produces and distributes the food needed to satisfy one of the most basic of all human needs" (Birkenholz, R.J., 1992, p. 6). According to Braverman and Rilla (1991), agricultural literacy among adults is an important area of education and research. However, according Doerfert, D. L., (2003)[1], few studies have been conducted about agricultural literacy for general adult audiences. Throughout this Wiki article we will discuss agricultural literacy as it could be encouraged within the framework of an adult education program.
Developing an Adult Education Agricultural Literacy Program could be a possible avenue for improving agriculture literacy within society. According to Caffarella (2002), the purpose of adult education programs includes assisting adults to bring about changes in societal norms and values. Therefore, an adult education program could be used to improve the American society's understanding of agriculture.
Planning a Program
In planning an educational program it is important to understand the situation or problem, the needs of the target audience, the content of the program, and the context of the situation (Caffarella, 2002). According to Birkenholz(1993), developing a Nation-wide Agricultural Literacy initiative should be a goal for educators.
Need for Agricultural Literacy
"Failure to educate the American public about the production and marketing of agricultural products may place the industry in jeopardy. The security of the industry will be directly influenced by policies developed by groups and individuals with limited agricultural knowledge and experience" (Birkenholz, 1993 p. 7).
One major political concern of proponents of agriculture literacy is how an uniformed general public can successfully elect legislators prepared to make good policy decisions about issues related to agricultural food and fiber production (Birchenholz, 1992). Braverman and Rilla (1991) point out that the American public must have a basic understanding of agriculture in order to make informed decisions on issues such as food safety, land use, and water policy.
There are also growing concerns relating to current American agricultural food production practices and its impact on human nutrition (FANG, 2009) [2]. There is mounting evidence that our current food system is responsible for diseases such as obesity and diabetes (Miner, 2006). Improving agricultural literacy as it relates to food consumption and nutritional information is imperative to improving our society's health [3].
Target Audience
The target audience of an agriculture literacy program would include male and female adults with non-agricultural backgrounds or experiences. Research has shown that the greatest need is inner city minorities who have had limited opportunities to learn about agriculture (Birkenholz, R.H. 1993).
The goal of any program sould be to educate the target audience. The final result would be to encourage the growth of a society which possesses "... knowledge and understanding of our food and fiber system. An individual possessing such knowledge would be able to synthesize, analyze, and communicate basic information about agriculture" (Frick et al., 1991, p. 4).
Content
According to Caffarella (2002), discerning the content and context is an important step in planning an adult education program. Therefore, understanding what agricultural literacy should include is an important step in determining the content of educational programs for adult audiences.
According to Frick et al. (1991), basic adult agricultural literacy should include knowledge in the following:
- production of plant and animal products
- economic impact of agriculture
- societal significance of agriculture
- agriculture’s important relationship with natural resources and the environment
- marketing of agricultural products
- processing of agricultural products
- public agricultural policies
- global significance of agriculture
- distribution of agricultural products
The complexity of agricultural literacy is clear. Ag literacy includes several key components ranging from biological sciences to social studies to international education.
Needs of Adult Audiences
In order for an agricultural literacy program for adults to be successful, program planners must consider the unique needs of adults. According to Knowles et al. (1998), Adult students have unique learning needs including:
1) Adults need to know why they need to learn something before learning it. 2) The self-concept of adults is heavily dependent upon a move toward self-direction. 3) Prior experiences of the learner provide a rich resource for learning 4) Adults typically become ready to learn when they experience a need to cope with a life situation or perform a task. 5) Adults' orientation to learning is life-centered, and they see education as a process of developing increased competency levels to achieve their full potential. 6) The motivation for adult learners is internal rather than external.
The dilemma facing advocates of adult agricultural literacy programs include developing education plans which combine meeting the need of the society to have agriculturally literate members and providing learning experience which are desirable, informative, and useful for adults.
Popular Information Sources
According to Buriak et al., “Learning is a human activity intrinsic to the learner. Learning is not necessarily an outcome of teaching” (1996, p. 26). Learning about agriculture has become an intrinsically motivated activity for some adults. Many Americans who do not have backgrounds in agriculture are taking interest in how their food is produced and distributed.
Unfortunately, according to Haygood (2002), popular media can fail to give an objective and thorough overview of an issue and can blur the line between fact and opinion [4]. However, currently some of the most powerful and well known sources of agricultural knowledge come from popular media.
According to Birkenholz (1993, p. 6) "Agricultural literacy programs for adults should be conducted in urban areas utilizing television media." Currently, popular information sources including books, movies, and Web sites discuss some of the issues in the agricultural industry and promote consumer knowledge related to topics such as corporate food production, environmental changes, organic foods movement, and human nutrition. These media sources encourage and promote various agricultural viewpoints for consumers using testimonials, startling statistics, and powerful oral and visual imagery.
Examples of Popular Media
Books
• “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” [5] by Michael Pollan
• “Just Food” [6] by James McWilliams
Movies
• “King Corn” [7]
• “Fed Up” [8]
• “Supersize Me” [9]
• “Food Inc” [10]
Web sites
• "Ag in the Classroom" [11]
• "My Pyramid" [12]
• "Christian County Ag Literacy Program" [13]
Future Outlook
The nature of adult education is such that the adult learner generally seeks out the teaching voluntarily (Knowles, 1998). This fact could complicate the implementation of a large-scale agricultural literacy program due to low voluntary participation, unless sound agricultural knowledge were more incorporated into the current popular sources of information for adults. For example television, movies, internet, magazines are information sources which are used by the general public [14].
Observing the popular success of movies like King Corn, Fed Up, and Food Inc it is clear that audiences are seeking out information about agriculture from persuasive, entertainment-focused documentaries. However, it is unknown what impact these popular media sources are having on the agriculture literacy of the American society. There is also a documented lack of scientific literacy, relating to agriculture, among the general population [15]. Different studies have concluded that adults have either high [16], [17] or low [18] levels of agricultural literacy. This observation may stem from differences in criteria used to determine literacy or from the backgrounds of those included in the study. However, it remains clear that more information about agricultural literacy for adults is needed. Doerfert concludes that "more research is needed to examine changes in adult behavior that result from agricultural literacy efforts" [19]
In Conclusion
In reviewing the literature it is clear that a need for agricultural literacy programs for adults audiences exists in our society. However, determining how to develop an educational program designed to meet the needs of adult learners and provide the necessary content to positively impact their understand of agriculture is a difficult challenge.
According to Mirriam & Caffarella (1991) there are four components of adult learning; self-directing as a characteristic of adult learning, life experiences triggers learning, reflection of changes transpires, and action of the learning has occurred. In order for an adult education program to be successful each of these key components must be met.
The challenge for advocates of improving adult agricultural literacy is to design educational programs which successful meet the needs of the audience. Adults must know why agriculture is important to their lives before they can begin to learn about it. As a result the need for agricultural literacy must tie directly to information adults need to cope with life and reach their full potential.
Developers of adult education programs in agriculture literacy must realize that “knowledge is constructed, not received.” Bain (2004, pg. 26). Therefore, it cannot be expected that adults will ever memorize and regurgitate the lesson taught by any one source. However, it is within the best interest of the society that all members understand and appreciate the impact of agriculture in their lives.
Video Links
Define Agriculture [20]
Kara at Fair [21]
Louisiana Farm Bureau: Agriculture Literacy Day [22]
Internal Links
Adult Education Defined [23]
Knowing What to Teach Adults: Program Ideas and Priorities [24]
Environmental_Adult_Education [25]
Extension Education Future with Urban Programming [26]
Planning Programs in Context: Agriculture and Extension Education [27]
External Links
"Ag in the Classroom" [28]
"My Pyramid" [29]
"Christian County Ag Literacy Program" [30]
References
- Birkenholz, R.H. (1992). Strategies to Promote Agricultural Literacy. (AAAE Ad Hoc Agricultural Literacy Work Group) Missouri: St. Louis. [31]
- Birkenholz, R.H. (1993). Pilot Study of Agricultural Literacy. Missouri: Columbia. [32]
- Braverman, M.T., Rilla, E.L. (1991). How California Educators and CE Directors View "Agricultural Literacy" Programs.
- Buriak, P., McNurlen, B., Harper, J. (1996). Toward a Scientific Basis For The Craft. Journal of Agriculture Education. 37, 25-37
- Caffarella, R.S.(2002). Planning Programs for Adult Learners, California: John Wiley & Sons.
- Cornell University (2009). Food Agriculture and Nutrition Group (FANG). Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://ciifad.cornell.edu/activities/topicgroups/fang/index.cfm
- Doerfert, D. L., (2003). Agricultural literacy: An assessment of research studies published within the agricultural education profession. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Western Region Agricultural Education Research Conference, Portland, 41.
- Frick, M.J., Kahler, A.A., Miller, W.W. (1991). Definition and the Concepts of Agricultural Literacy. Journal of Agricultural Education.
- Gereffi, G., Christian, M. (2007). A Global Value Chain Approach to Food, Healthy Diets, and Childhood Obesity. WHO Early-Stage Expert Meeting, Montreal, Canada.
- Hagins, S.A. (2001). Associated Press Wire Service Coverage Of Agricultural Issues: A Content Analysis. Unpublished master's thesis, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. [33]
- Harris, Clark & Birkenholz, R.J. (1996). Agricultural literacy of Missouri secondary school
educators. Journal of Agricultural Education, 37 (2).
- Haygood, J., Hagins, S., Akers, C., & Keith, L. (2002, December). Associated Press Wire Service coverage of agricultural issues. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Agricultural Education Research Conference, Las Vegas, NV.
- Knowles, M. S. (1980). The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Androgogy. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge Books.
- Knowles, M.S., and Holton, E.F., and Swanson, R.A. (1998). The Adult Learner, 5th ed. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing.
- Lundy, L., Ruth, A., Telg, R., & Irani, T. (2005, February). It takes two: Public understanding of agricultural science and agricultural scientists’ understanding of the public. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists, Agricultural Communication Section, Little Rock, AK.
- Merriam S.B. and Brockett R.G. (2007). The Profession and Practice of Adult Education: An Introduction, California: Jossey-Bass.
- Miner, J. (2006). Market incentives could bring U.S. agriculture and nutrition policies into accord. California Agriculture. Vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 8-13.
- Pecore, J. T. (2004). Sounding the spirit of Cambodia: The living tradition of Khmer music and dance-drama in a Washington, DC community (Doctoral dissertation). Available from Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3114720)
- Richard, J.B. (2009). The Agricultural Industry as Perceived by Members of the General Public of Louisiana (Doctoral dissertation). Louisiana State University.
