New Beginnings: Exploring Agricultural Communications Curriculum Development in Ontario
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.174Keywords:
Agricultural communications, curriculum development, Canada, International, AgricultureAbstract
While agricultural communications programs are staples in American higher education, no comparable program exists in any Canadian institution. As North American nations, Canadian and American agriculture face similar challenges such as increasingly skeptical public opinion and decreasing agricultural literacy. This study focuses on the flagship agricultural institution in Canada as a potential base for a new agricultural communications program and highlights the opinions of two key stakeholders, agricultural students at the institution, and agricultural industry professionals in Ontario. Following a curriculum development framework by Wolf (2007), stakeholders detailed suggested program formatting, ideal core curriculum content, traits of the ideal graduate, and desired opportunities and experiences provided by such a program. Results found that stakeholders upheld the program teaching a variety of communication skills, social skills, and providing networking and co-op opportunities. Participants upheld the value of the program, noting that a major and particularly a minor option are ideal to introduce the program to as many students as possible, even those outside of agriculture. This study serves as an important step for future Canadian or North American curriculum development initiatives and seeks to fill the literature gap for agricultural communications curriculum development outside of the United States.
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