Date of Award
5-1-2017
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Agricultural Sciences
First Advisor
Pense, Seburn
Abstract
The significance of agriculture to future generations is unparalleled. The United Nations projects the global population to swell to 9.75 billion people by 2050, and to proliferate to 11.2 billion by 2100. The non-agricultural population has little to no understanding or comprehension of the complexities of sustaining a viable agricultural system. Agricultural literacy is an area often unseen and rarely discussed outside specific agricultural disciplines. Society does not view agriculture as being important, yet it is important that society be properly educated on issues in order to reach well-informed decisions and render prudent choices that impact the world around them. Illinois ranks fourth in the nation for agricultural productivity, yet the agricultural literacy of its elementary students is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the agricultural knowledge of selected Illinois classrooms of public elementary school students in kindergarten through fifth grades that employ Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) methods and materials. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design, using a pretest and a posttest, was utilized to study. A Solomon Four-Group design analysis was used to determine if pretest sensitization, or test reactivity effect, existed in this study. The study found that AITC treatment and control group students possessed some agricultural knowledge regarding the five thematic areas of the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy (FSSL) Framework. The kindergarten through first grade post mean scores by treatment and theme indicated the treatment group answered 77.89 percent of the questions correctly and the control group answered 72.55 percent correctly. The treatment and control groups were most knowledgeable about Theme 5 (Food, Nutrition and Health) followed by Theme 4 (Business and Economics), with the treatment group being more knowledgeable about Theme 1 (Understanding Food and Fiber Systems), while the control group was more knowledgeable about Theme 3 (Science, Technology and Environment). The treatment and control groups were least knowledgeable about Theme 2 (History, Geography and Culture). The second through third grade post mean scores by treatment and theme indicated the treatment group answered 75.05 percent of the questions correctly and the control group answered 74.07 percent correctly. The treatment group was most knowledgeable about Theme 3 (Science, Technology and Environment) followed by Theme 1 (Understanding Food and Fiber Systems) and Theme 5 (Food, Nutrition and Health). The control group was most knowledgeable about Theme 1 (Understanding Food and Fiber Systems) followed by Theme 3 (Science, Technology and Environment) and Theme 4 (Business and Economics). The treatment and control groups were least knowledgeable about Theme 2 (History, Geography and Culture). The fourth through fifth grade post mean scores by treatment and theme indicated the treatment group answered 66.73 percent of the questions correctly and the control group answered 52.91 percent correctly. The treatment group was most knowledgeable about Theme 2 (History, Geography and Culture) followed by Theme 3 (Science, Technology and Environment) and Theme 5 (Food, Nutrition and Health). The control groups were most knowledgeable about Theme 3 (Science, Technology and Environment) followed by Theme 1 (Understanding Food and Fiber Systems) and Theme 4 (Business and Economics). The treatment was least knowledgeable about Theme 4 (Business and Economics) and Theme 5 (Food, Nutrition and Health). The control group was least knowledgeable about Theme 2 (History, Geography and Culture) followed by Theme 5 (Food, Nutrition and Health).
Access
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