model for developing a well-prepared agricultural workforce in an international setting

Agriculture is an important sector of the economy of Egypt and other North African and Middle Eastern countries. While a system of Agricultural Technical Schools (ATS) is in place in Upper Egypt, there has not been a comprehensive effort to help ensure that students in those programs are adequately...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of international agricultural and extension education 2009, Vol.16 (3), p.25-31
Main Authors: Barrick, R. Kirby, Samy, Mohamed M, Gunderson, Michael A, Thoron, Andrew C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural education
Agricultural sector
agricultural technical schools
Agriculture
Curriculum
Development
education programs
Egypt
human resources
internships
labor force
leadership development
training (people)
Workers
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Summary:Agriculture is an important sector of the economy of Egypt and other North African and Middle Eastern countries. While a system of Agricultural Technical Schools (ATS) is in place in Upper Egypt, there has not been a comprehensive effort to help ensure that students in those programs are adequately prepared to enter the workforce and be productive. The model that was developed begins with the needs of agricultural business and industry and the perceived preparedness of ATS graduates to enter the workforce. The differences between need and preparedness generate a skill-gap that serves as the basis for curriculum design. Curricular change based on student ability and guided by an external advisory council includes technical skill development, internships, decision-making and leadership. Coupled with curricular improvement, the model allows for faculty development to assist ATS instructors in active learning, competency assessment, leadership activities and internship supervision. A train-the- trainer model utilized agriculture faculty members from Egyptian universities to provide on- going instruction. Since other nations of the North African and Middle-Eastern regions share similar needs and concerns, the model is proposed to be applicable in those settings as well. Reprinted by permission of the Editorial Board of the Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education, the official peer-reviewed, refereed publication of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education. Permission to reprint is granted to the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences for indexing and archival purposes.
ISSN:1077-0755
2831-5960
1077-0755
DOI:10.5191/jiaee.2009.16303