A proposed curriculum in extension education for inservice training of Agriculture Field Assistants in Guyana

Abstract

This study sought to develop a needs-oriented pragmatic curriculum in extension education for inservice training of Agriculture Field Assistants, which would supplement the technical agriculture curriculum used at the Guyana School of Agriculture for preservice training of extension workers. Interviews were used to collect data from 74 Agriculture Field Assistants, 12 Agriculture Assistants and Agriculture Officers (Extension), and 16 Agriculture lecturers. The training needs were determined by (a) comparative analysis of the personal and job profiles of the Agriculture Field Assistants, to determine inadequacies in their educational background; (b) review of relevant primary documents; (c) analysis of selected concepts in extension education and related social sciences; and (d) suggestions from extension and training specialists. These needs provided the basis of the formulation of the teaching objectives of the curriculum, and the identification of appropriate learning experiences. It was found that: 1) preservice training at the Guyana School of Agriculture provided the Agriculture Field Assistants with a relatively strong background in general agriculture, but with very limited training in extension education and related social sciences; 2) the value of concept learning as an approach to education was not fully realized by educational administrators and educators in the Guyana School of Agriculture; 3) all 38 concepts in extension education and related social sciences, which were considered essential for the job of the Agriculture Field Assistants, could be included in the curriculum; and 4) it appeared that the agriculture lecturers, not being in contact with field conditions, might not have had as deep a perception of the type of training required by front-line extension workers as did the Agriculture Field Assistants, and the Agriculture Assistants and Agriculture Officers (Extension). The proposed curriculum was developed in accordance with the Tyler rationale for curriculum development. It was suggested that this curriculum could be implemented at the Guyana School of Agriculture, which would need to modify its existing programmes to make them more diverse, in terms of courses offered concurrently, and more continuous, with training planned over a longer period of time