This book responds to the widespread recognition among experts that our educational system needs to change in order to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to ensure the future vitality of U.S. agriculture. Understanding Agriculture focuses on agricultural literacy (education about agriculture) and vocational agricultural education (education in agriculture). The section on agricultural literacy addresses the teaching of science through agriculture, teacher education and training, model educational programs, community support, and agricultural career exploration programs. Vocational agricultural education is examined in terms of program enrollment, availability and content, supervised occupational experiences, the Future Farmers of America program, and teacher education and supply.
Written by leaders in agriculture education, Principles of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources is a user-friendly, visual introduction to the systems and concepts that define modern agriculture, including food systems and natural resources. This text is aligned to AFNR standards, providing practical information on building leadership, communication, and career-ready skills while integrating pedagogical tools designed for learner success. Using a modern approach to learning design, information is delivered in smaller sections so students can process and then interact with assessment and review to foster application, analysis, evaluation, and creation. This comprehensive text welcomes today's learners to the diverse and exciting world of agriscience and FFA opportunities, encouraging students to participate in their school, communities, and enroll in advanced courses.
The development of leadership capacities addresses a vital and continuing need in communities and organizations as they attempt to adapt to a wide range of social, economic, environmental, and political changes. Leadership development activities that focus on building new skills and fostering new ideas directly shape local and organizational capacity. At the organizational level, leadership is a valued resource as organizations are faced with challenges of limited resources, funding, and other capacities. Community leadership operates within a different domain; an environment with different dynamics, structures, and goals. Community leadership is distinctive in that leaders often do not have formal training or authority to dictate and facilitate change. Instead, community leaders must rely on informal networks of diverse citizens, each with a unique local capacity, as the basis for change. This book brings together classic and contemporary articles drawn from Community Development. Divided into two sections, the book begins with a range of seminal leadership theory and conceptualization pieces. These have been instrumental in shaping leadership development in a wide range of settings. Following the theory section, a variety of research and application chapters are presented. These chapters operationalize theory through applied research and programming, and provide replicable frameworks for future research and programs. This book is a compilation of articles published in the journal Community Development.
The framework of development; Understanding extension; Social and cultural factors in extension; Extension and comunication; Extension methods; The extension agent; The planning and evaluation of extension programmes; Extension an special target groups.
During the next ten years, colleges of agriculture will be challenged to transform their role in higher education and their relationship to the evolving global food and agricultural enterprise. If successful, agriculture colleges will emerge as an important venue for scholars and stakeholders to address some of the most complex and urgent problems facing society. Such a transformation could reestablish and sustain the historical position of the college of agriculture as a cornerstone institution in academe, but for that to occur, a rapid and concerted effort by our higher education system is needed to shape their academic focus around the reality of issues that define the world's systems of food and agriculture and to refashion the way in which they foster knowledge of those complex systems in their students. Although there is no single approach to transforming agricultural education, a commitment to change is imperative.
Praise for the Second Edition of The Handbook for Student Leadership Development "This is a must-have book for leadership educators and all student affairs professionals who want to develop impactful leadership programs and the leadership capacity of students. Buy it. Read it. Use it to develop the needed leadership for our collective future." CYNTHIA CHERREY, vice president for campus life, Princeton University, and president, the International Leadership Association "As we continue to encourage leadership behavior in young people, it is very easy to get lost in a forest of new theories, programs, and definitions. This handbook serves as the compass to guide us, and it grounds the field of student leadership development in principles and best practices. Our challenge is to put this work into action." PAUL PYRZ, president, LeaderShape " Comprehensive in design and scope, the second edition of The Handbook is a theory and practice resource manual for every leadership educator inside and outside of the classroom." LAURA OSTEEN, director, the Center for Leadership and Civic Education, Florida State University " Every college administrator responsible for coordinating student leadership programming should have this book. The Handbook for Student Leadership Development takes the guesswork out of leadership program design, content, and delivery." AINSLEY CARRY, vice president for student affairs, Auburn University " I recommend without hesitation the Handbook for Student Leadership Development to student affairs professionals who desire to enhance the leadership experiences for all their students as well as teachers who are seeking ways to bolster their students' classroom experiences." Dr. WILLIAM SMEDICK, director, Leadership Programs and Assessment, Office of the Dean of Student Life, and lecturer, Center for Leadership Education, Johns Hopkins University
