STUDENTS PERCEPTION ON THE STUDY OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND ITS EFFECT ON AGRIC EDUCATION STUDENT’S LEARNING PERFORMANCE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

Abstract

The study examines students’ perception on the study of agricultural education and its effects on agric education students learning performance in the University of Benin in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Four research questions guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of study comprised of one hundred and fifteen (115) students consisting of all 100level to 400level agricultural education students in the department of Vocational and Technical Education, Faculty of Education, University of Benin was used. The entire population of one hundred and fifteen (115) students was used because of the few students enrolled to study agricultural science and education in the department. The research instrument used in the study was a four point likert scale questionnaire developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by the researcher’s supervisor and two experts from the Department of Vocational and Technical Education Faculty of Education, the reliability of the instrument was determined by administering 20 questionnaires to respondents who were not part of the population and a reliability coefficient of 0.68using Pearson correlation coefficient was obtained. The questionnaire was administered and collected immediately after filling by the researcher with the aid of one briefed research assistant, the data collected was analyzed using frequency count, mean and standard deviation. Findings of the study showed that, in general, students' perception of agriculture and programs related to it are not very positive because of misunderstandings, the influence of family, as well as other factors like society, the economy, suitable learning facilities and resources, and the environment and these factors affect students' academic performance at the University of Benin.The study recommended that the University of Benin should improve on teaching & learning resources and facilities as well as combine theory with sufficient practical within and outside the University premises. The study also recommends timely interventions such as availability of loans to university graduates and small scale farmers, awareness among students and parents of the value of agriculture and career development, collaboration between the University of Benin and other agricultural organizations in planning of field trips, summer internships, road shows, broadcasting programs, exhibitions etc should be put in place.