Date of Award:

5-1958

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Department name when degree awarded

Education

Committee Chair(s)

Basil C. Hansen

Committee

Basil C. Hansen

Committee

Eldon M. Drake

Committee

John C. Carlisle

Abstract

Technology in agriculture has changed more in the past hundred years than in the previous thousand, and the rate of change seems to be accelerating. No longer can one farm successfully for the duration of a lifetime with the same knowledge, understanding and skill which he possessed as a young farmer (1).

Senators and Representatives recognized the need for the continuous preparation of farm people for proficiency in their chosen field and in 1917 introduced and passed the Smith-Hughes Act. This enable school administrators to offer vocational instruction in agriculture to young and adult farmers by providing additional funds to local districts for classes in vocational education. The act also provided for agriculture education in the high school curriculum (15).

Seventy-nine per cent of the adult farmers in America dropped out of the educational systems before completing high school. Sixty-three per cent dropped out of school before enrolling in high school. This means that only about one-third of the farmers ever had an opportunity to enroll in all-day classes in agriculture (12).

Establishment in farming becomes more complex under conditions of increasing land value, increasing mechanization, growing trend toward urbanization, and larger and fewer farms (21). A little more than 20 years ago (in 1935), there were 30,695 farms in Utah; 10 years later, 26,322 farms (17); and the 1954 report shows 22,826 farms (23). In the same period of time (1935-1954) the average farm size increased from 203 acres to 537 acres; the average farm value increased from $5,157 (17) to $24,865 (23).

Because of the large investments required in farming there is apparently a great need for post-high school training, but reports show that Utah evidently is not filling its needs. There has been a 45 per cent decrease in enrollment of young and adult farmer classes from the years 1949 to 1956. Figure 1 shows the decrease in this post-high school enrollment.

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