Search results

Leadership is a concept that has always been a major component of Colleges of Agriculture. Undergraduate student have numerous opportunities to develop their leadership skills and abilities though formal coursework, collegiate organizations, and personal leadership activities. This ethnographic qualitative research study investigated the leadership characteristics of outstanding seniors in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University. The study utilized a semi-structured interview methodology. The objectives of the study were to 1) Determine the leadership development experiences of the outstanding seniors prior to their enrolling in college, 2) Identify the leadership development activities in which they participated during their undergraduate studies, 3) Identify their self-perceived strengths, weaknesses, and leadership influences, 4) Identify the personal and professional leadership goals. Results indicate that the outstanding seniors had significant leadership development experiences in FFA and 4-H while in high school. They continued to participate in leadership activities in dozens of different collegiate organizations, both within and outside of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The outstanding seniors had a passionate belief in their own leadership ability, believed strongly in servant leadership, and used their leadership to the benefit of the organizations in which they were members.

Agricultural education and training (AET) institutions will play a strategic role in helping to prepare Africa’s rapidly growing youth populations for productive careers in agriculture and related agri-businesses. The purpose of this paper is to examine the magnitude of skills and youth employment needs emanating from high-population growth rates. It then explores how agricultural education institutions are responding to these challenges in four different countries at different levels of food system development: South Africa tier 1, Tanzania in tier 2 and Malawi and Uganda in tier 3.

Demographic and school enrollment data provide information on the magnitude of job market entrants at different levels of education while Living Standards Measurement Studies in the respective countries provide a snapshot of current skill requirements in different segments of the agri-food system. In order to evaluate AET responses, the authors have conducted country-level reviews of AET systems as well as in-depth assessments at key tertiary AET institutions in each of the four case study countries.

Growth rates in primary school enrollments are high in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, because of budgetary constraints, transition rates decline rapidly – about 40 percent from primary to secondary and 7 percent from secondary to tertiary. As a result, substantial numbers of primary and secondary school graduates seek jobs.

The case study countries are limited to four. Had more financial resources and time been available, researchers could have spread further afield and in so doing increasing the precision of the results.

Estimation of the number of primary and secondary school leavers seeking employment because of failure to proceed to the next level of education. Estimation of the level of education shares in the various components of the agri-food system.

In a survey of 132 UK agricultural web sites, more than 60 per cent mounted directorytype information like that found in printed directories of information sources, but this was not always easily accessible. Information about people in organisations varied between the different categories of web site. Just under three‐quarters of all sites mounted some substantive content but the amount of content on sites was small. Documents were available on slightly more than half the sites, but other types of content were available on fewer sites. Few sites explained how to locate information on the site or stated the intended audience. Less than one‐third of sites had facilities to aid site navigation, but there were differences between the site categories for these features. Just over half the web sites displayed revision dates, but only about one‐third had been updated in the last three months.

Undergraduate agricultural leadership education opportunities are prevalent and growing. However, additional attention should be placed on the quality of educational leadership experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore how the context of a learning experience impacts student application of team leadership skills. The findings and implications of this study are reported in three themes: (a) contextual dimensions of educational experiences, (b) agricultural disconnect, and (c) team leadership skill application. Recommendations for practitioners include providing students with real-life leadership skill application experiences, regulating assignments to have agricultural connections, and integrating opportunities for student reflection. Future research should consider questions such as: (a) what other educational leadership experiences may have considerable learning impacts? and (b) what other pedagogical methodologies are useful in teaching agricultural and team leadership education?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of academic courses on agricultural entrepreneurship.

Modified global entrepreneurship and development index (GEDI) was used to determine entrepreneurial dimensions among 19 graduated students of agricultural colleges resided in Iran. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process was applied to understand agricultural graduates’ preferences on effectiveness of university courses (core, free elective and restricted elective).

Results suggested the importance of professional restricted elective courses to provide students with necessary skills. These courses were successful in providing a context for entrepreneurial profile.

Innate talent or acquired skills were always the place of debate on entrepreneurial development. The paper builds on the premise that entrepreneurs are made through education and continuing reconstruction of experience, further research is required as the field develops in experience and complexity.

The paper provides strategies to effectively modify practical route in higher education to enhance entrepreneurial orientation among students.

The paper is innovative at a conceptual level in modifying GEDI elements in individual-level variables based on GEDI configuration theory. This approach is particularly useful in addressing the bottleneck problems of entrepreneurship profile and focusses on the information interpreted at weights of the individual-level data.

Reports on a comparative study of the types and degrees of horizontal and vertical integration within the seed potato industries of The Netherlands and Northern Ireland. Using an integration analysis grid, presents descriptive models of the integrative functions in both industries. Given the superior marketing performance of the Dutch industry, and the way in which this is facilitated by its highly integrated organizational structure, makes a case for the utilization of both horizontal and vertical integration in improving marketing performance in seed potato industries.

One method to develop leaders is through leadership development programs designed specifically for an intended context. The International Leadership Association (ILA) provides questions for designing programs such programs. This article reflects data collected during the process of developing a leadership program serving the broader agricultural community in Virginia. The International Association of Programs for Agricultural Leadership (IAPAL) reports that programs for leadership development in agricultural contexts typically include 12 seminars over two years, with less than one-third of the seminars agriculturally related. The profile includes sources of financial support and allocation of administrative duties. A survey of agricultural leaders reveals a strong desire for such programming. The stakeholders sought a program including emerging and experienced leaders with travel for on-site experiential learning. The findings have implications for the state and broad leadership development. Those who develop leadership programs for other contexts may benefit from the guiding questions and data.

The purpose of this paper is to consider perennial issues in the education of chartered surveyors and to use the debates and experiences of the past to inform the present and future, particularly the question of the balance between academic and practical training.

Primary and secondary sources were used to establish a history of the growth of the profession and the development of formal education and assessment from the 19th century and to consider current issues with reference to wider theories of education.

The profession grew from vocational roots and did not enjoy the centuries of status of, say, the law. The 19th century saw an increasing technicalisation and professionalisation of surveying, with developments in various strands of the discipline, from the rural land agents to construction and public housing specialists. The muted reception from the universities in recognising the discipline is instructive. Looking at the relationship between classroom education and apprenticeship and what is needed in the preliminary education and assessment of surveyors holds contemporary lessons as increasing university fees has prompted renewed review of the most economical ways of training, while maintaining rigour.

There have been histories of surveying and of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, but this paper relates the past to the present. Its value is in highlighting the tension between the practical and academic, allowing current debates to benefit from earlier discussions and longitudinal experience of different models of education. This paves the way for a wider consideration of experiential learning theory to be applied to a fundamental review of surveying education.

In the last decade the Agricultural and Food Research Service has been transformed as resources are concentrated in fewer large institutes. This paper presents the new dispositions with a brief commentary on their evolution.