GREENING AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM FOR SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper considered some approaches for enhancing graduates of agricultural education work skills towards social and economic transformation. It examined the integration of a green approach into agricultural education curriculum to develop a sustainable workforce for agricultural production in southeast Nigeria. Four research questions guided the study and four hypotheses were also formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Population of the study was 122 agricultural education lecturers and instructors in three selected higher institution that offers agricultural education in Enugu State. The entire population was used for the study because of the manageable size. Greening agricultural education curriculum item questionnaire made up of 78 items was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts in Department of Technology and Vocational Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. A Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.71, 0.82, 0.73 and 0.79 was obtained for the four clusters respectively. One hundred and twelve copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents by the researcher with the help of three research assistants. All the administered copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t – test. Findings of the study revealed among others that agricultural education curriculum require element of green skills that will expose the students to sustainable work placement. It was therefore recommended that green skills should be included in the curriculum to provide green skills necessary for sustainable workforce.