Can schooling make a better farmer? : primary schooling and agriculture in Burundi

Specifically, it investigates how agriculture is taught in primary schools, and how knowledge and skills acquired in school may affect the ways school leavers think about and practice agriculture. Findings are presented from studies of three primary schools and farmers living in the school catchment areas. Among these farmers, schooling is strongly related to two measures of literacy (decoding and comprehension), but has little apparent impact on agricultural knowledge and practice as measured in this study. Strategies for strengthening agricultural education are proposed; they would require: (1) linking the functions of agricultural education and extension; (2) integrating the teaching of science and agriculture; (3) articulating the content of practical instruction with the skills and knowledge students acquire from social experience; (4) using the mother tongue for agricultural instruction; and (5) increasing the attention given to agriculture by ensuring that achievement is tested in the examination used to select students for admission to secondary schools. (Author abstract)