Date of Award:

5-1955

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education

Department name when degree awarded

Agricultural Education

Committee Chair(s)

S. S. Richardson

Committee

S. S. Richardson

Committee

L. R. Humpherys

Abstract

A shortage of manpower during World War II and in the immediate years following the war forced the American farmer into an era of mechanized agriculture. His investment in machinery tripled. With this evolution in farming, additional training became necessary for the successful operation, care, and maintenance of his machinery. The farmer became, through no choice of his own, a mechanic. Many times the success or failure of his farming enterprizes was a direct result of how well he operated his costly farm machinery.

The evolution in farming methods presented a new challenge to the instructor in agriculture. Problems of students were changing with the mechanization of agriculture. The instructor needed additional training and development of skills in this new field. Effective teaching of vocational agriculture problems requires student participation. In farm mechanics instruction the pupil learns, for example, how to weld by actually using a welder to weld two pieces of metal together. Much of his learning takes place on home projects which he must build and repair or maintain as a part of his supervised farming program. Modern farm mechanics instruction in the school shop, therefore, requires a wide variety of materials for use in project construction, instruction, and demonstrations given by the shop instructor and for the development of the skills necessary for the farmer and his sons to cope with the varied problems they meet on the farm today. Most of the skills the pupils acquire in the school farm shop require materials. To successfully complete the pupil's production projects--feeders, gates, housing, repair of machinery, re-building machinery and equipment--requires many materials. These materials for the most part must be readily available in the farm mechanics shop. The efficiency of operation of the school farm mechanics shop is therefore dependent in a large measure on the availability of consumable and instructional supplies conveniently and systematically stored and issued to students with a minimum loss of time.

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