Posted February 1999
Agricultural education and training institutions, more than most educational programmes, engage directly with the outside world. Students visit research stations and farms. Specialists are brought in to give lectures on their subjects of expertise. Internships, attachments, placements and study visits all form part of the curriculum.
From time to time, when new courses are developed or old courses are revised, experts of various kinds are consulted on the new curriculum - both experts in agricultural and associated subjects, and (perhaps more rarely) experts in education and training.
Because of their involvement with these courses, such outsiders become stakeholders in the programmes of agricultural education and training. But beyond these outside experts, there are other stakeholders - the teachers, the students and their parents, funders, government agencies, NGOs, employers, farmers' organizations, industry, professional bodies, users of agricultural services and the like.
This training guide seeks to help those who are engaged in agricultural education and training to identify who the stakeholders are for their own programmes. It explores why we should try to involve these stakeholders in the development of curricula at three different levels - first, determining the aims and goals of the programme and courses; secondly, setting the learning objectives (in terms of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes, the so-called "KSA approach" to curriculum development); and thirdly, designing the learning activities by which these objectives are to be achieved. The Guide discusses different methods of working with the stakeholders in the development of the curriculum for agricultural education and learning. It outlines some of the implications of involving outsiders in curriculum development processes - implications for the evaluation of courses, for the training of staff to deal with new areas of education, and for the institution as a whole.
The training Guide is intended for all those who work in agricultural education and training, whether as teachers, administrators or researchers in educational institutions or as planners and administrators in Ministry of Agriculture Training Divisions. It is an essential tool for anyone engaged in the development of more effective programmes of agricultural education and training
 
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