Non-Occupational
Supervised Experience!
Barry Croom
The Agricultural Education Magazine, December, 1991, Volume 64, p. 15-16.
Non-Occupational
Supervised Experience!
Barry Croom
The Agricultural Education Magazine, December, 1991, Volume 64, p. 15-16.
As a graduate student in Agricultural Education at North Carolina State University, I had the opportunity to enroll in a course entitled "Occupational Experience Programs in Agriculture." The course covered the importance of Supervised Experience (SE) programs, cooperative education and program management. Things went smoothly until the professor introduced the topic of non-occupational SAE programs in agriculture. Non-occupational SAE programs? I immediately assumed that my professor had taken leave of his senses by even suggesting such an idea. I had always been taught that SOE programs must be either ownership or placement oriented, and teachers should make sure that every student is involved in some type of agricultural experience.
This concept went against everything I had ever learned about SE. Over the past three years I have served as an agricultural educator, I have tried (with limited success) to provide every student in my program with an SE opportunity. just when I thought I had a grasp of what I needed to be doing with SE, along comes another idea that radically expands the way we should look at Supervised Experience (SE) programs.
As we discussed the topic however, it became clear that this idea is not only a good one, but also one that will eventually lead my clientele toward one hundred percent involvement in the SE program. Let's take a moment to define the concept of non-occupational SE.
Experiential Learning
The concept of experiential learning through occupational experience programs has come a long way since the early 1900's. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 mandated that schools "shall provide for directed or supervised practice in agriculture, either on a farm provided for by the school or other farm, for at least six months per year .. ." For many years afterwards, teachers worked hard to develop and maintain SOE programs which helped many young men and women become established in farming. As times changed, students became less interested in farming and began to explore the other career Opportunities in agriculture. We began to see more students who loved being in vocational agriculture classes but who did not have the desire or resources necessary to establish ownership or placement programs. A recent study surveyed teachers, teacher educators, and state supervisors on the question of why SOE programs have declined in Agricultural Education. Teachers and teacher educators blamed the type of student enrolling in agricultural education programs as the chief cause for the decline in SOE. State supervisors listed the type of Student enrolling as their second choice (Flowers, 1990).
Unfortunately, SOE programs did not adjust to students' interests quickly enough and occupational experience programs became a difficult component for many teachers to maintain.
After the study by the National Academy of Sciences was released in 1988, many state and national agencies began to update curriculums of instruction in agriculture to reflect new advancements in the field of agriculture and to reach and teach a changing clientele. The National Future Farmers of American Organization changed its name to encourage, rather than discourage, participation by non-farm students. Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) was developed to broaden the scope of acceptable Supervised Experience (SE) in agriculture. Students enrolled in agriculture were no longer limited to ownership, placement, or directed laboratory experience programs (SOE), but allowed to expand their supervised experience to include (SAE):
• Interviews with agricultural professionals
• Reports
• Research projects
• Speeches
• Observation experiences
These new experiences are not occupational in the sense that students earn some type of wage. These supervised experiences are designed to provide additional knowledge in and about agriculture so that students may make sound and practical career choices. A very significant group of students benefit from these types of SAE programs.
Examples
The following list of situations describe possible applications for the nonoccupational SAE program:
1. Students entering college. Many students preparing to enter college could benefit from research projects and reports. Many of these students are in college preparatory programs in high school and may not have time or interest in developing traditional SOE programs.
2. Agriscience students in traditional programs. In North Carolina, we have approximately 3 programs out of 251 that could be classified as agriscience. Students interested in agriscience are not interested in Supervised Occupational Experience programs, but in research and technical advancement in agriculture, Non-occupational SAE programs are a potential outlet for experiential learning beyond the classroom. Students could use the scientific method to solve problems in all facets of agriculture.
3. Students with interests in agricultural occupations beyond the local community. Suppose you have a student who is interested in a certain type of agricultural crop that because of climate or marketing factors, is not grown in that student's home community. Perhaps the student could, develop a research-based SAE program and study ways to bring this crop to the local community.
4. The nontraditional student. Let's face it, we sometimes have students enrolled in our program who do not have the resources or interest to develop SOE placement or ownership-type programs. Non-occupational SAE's are a good place to start in developing interest in this type of Student.
These are at least four different scenarios where agricultural education students could benefit from a non-occupational SE program. We should not rule out the possibility that students may still develop both an SOE program and a non-occupational SAE program at the same time.
Troubleshooting Non-Occupational SAE's
The old saying that "nothing is a sure thing" certainly lends itself well to non-occupational SAE's. Certain drawbacks do exist. As art agricultural education instructor, I push students hard to complete proficiency award and FFA degree applications. Unfortunately, those students whose only form of SE is writing speeches on agricultural topics tend to lose out in these award areas. At present, the only awards available to students with non-occupational SAE programs are Computers in Agriculture and Agriscience Student. While there may be few contests for these types of SE's, there arc, substantial rewards. The 1990 Agriscience Student of the Year walked off the National FFA Convention stage in Kansas City with checks totaling $8500.00 in prize money. Most other FFA award areas don't come close to this amount.
Another drawback of non-occupational SAE programs is recordkeeping. At present, few provisions exist for keeping records of what students are doing in non-occupational experience programs. I contend that with modification ,records could be kept on just about any SAE program. If the student is involved in research and experimentation, then laboratory recordkeeping procedures would be appropriate. Students involved in interviewing and observing agricultural professionals at work could use an exploratory type of recordbook. For those students involved in writing speeches and reports on agricultural topics, the written copies of these two activities along with a bibliography could serve as the record.
Conclusion
Non-occupational SAE programs are the saving grace for supervised experience in the Midway High School Agricultural Education Department because they provide something for every student. Today, one out of every four students shows an interest in or engages in production agriculture. Student interest has increasingly shifted away from traditional agricultural occupations such as farming and ranching and into the areas of plant and animal science, food science, biology, marketing, and research. Agricultural educators need to continue to evaluate programs to see if they are actually meeting the needs of students, or are we just meeting teacher's desires and needs. A veteran teacher and good friend once said, "If a student does not wish to participate in your program, take part in FFA activities, or develop (SE) programs make sure that it is the student's choice and not the teacher's choice."
Non-occupational SAE programs can be beneficial learning experiences for students with limited interest in traditional agricultural careers. It is our job as education, to make sure that we offer every possible opportunity for students to establish, maintain and succeed in the Supervised Experience Program.
References
Binkley, Harold R., and Charles W. Byers (1984). SOE PROGRAMS IN AGRICULTURE. The Interstate.
Check, Jimmy G, and Larry Arrington. (May, 1990). "Reshaping SAE to Provide. Experiential Learning in the 1990's" THE AGRICULTURAL MAGAZINE. pp. 12-13.
Flowers, Jim, (Fall, 1990), "Relationships Between SAE and SOE" Occupational Experience in Agriculture, NC State University.
Hall, David E. (May, 1910. "Supervised Experience RecordkeepinG: A La Carte or House Special?" THE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION MAGAZINE pp. 14-15.
Phipps, Lloyd J, (1960). HANDBOOK ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 4th Ed. The Interstate.