STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 417 



INVESTIGATIONS ON AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS. 



E. H. Shinn, Chief Specialist in Agricultural Education. 



Studies were continued during the year to determine improved 

 methods and the content of subject matter for the use of teachers 

 of agriculture in secondary and elementary schools. Progress in 

 the development of vocational agricultural education, together with 

 the increased interest in prevocational education in agriculture, has 

 stimulated the demand for material useful to teachers of agricul- 

 ture, and it has been the aim of this division to make available to 

 teachers and students of agriculture useful material derived from 

 the large amount of agricultural information constantly being accu- 

 mulated by the Department of Agriculture and the agricultural col- 

 leges and experiment stations. The teaching of agriculture below 

 college grade is a comparatively new thing in the United States, 

 but since the passage of the vocational education act much greater 

 interest is being manifested in this work. Teachers of agriculture 

 are being better trained for their duties through the teacher-training 

 divisions established in connection with the State agricultural col- 

 leges. This new movement is accompanied by greater demand for 

 knowledge of the latest methods of instruction and other information 

 useful to these teachers. "With the cooperation of the subject-matter 

 specialist of the different bureaus of the department, much up-to-date 

 information is being made available to agricultural teachers. 



Cooperative relatlon^:llips are at present maintained with the fol- 

 lowing agencies outside the Department of Agriculture: (1) With 

 the Federal Board for Vocational Education in the preparation of 

 publications for the use of teachers of agriculture in high schools 

 which receive aid through the vocational education act; (2) with cer- 

 tain States which desire to have prepared special outlined courses of 

 study in agriculture for the rural schools; (3) with teacher-training 

 divisions in the States by supplying helpful publications, by confer- 

 ences, by correspondence, and by loaning illustrative material ; and 

 (4) with teachers in service by supplying publications and other 

 information for use in the schools, making suggestions as to the use 

 of such material, and loaning lantern slides prepared especially for 

 the use of agricultural teachers. 



In cooperation with the Federal Board for Vocational Education 

 further study was made of job analysis of certain farm enterprises 

 in the production and marketing of agricultural commodities. The 

 unit course in poultry liusbandry was revised, as a result of sugges- 

 tions received in conference with teachers in service and with heads 

 of teacher-training divisions. Publications were prepared for use in 

 the vocational agricultural schools operating under the Smith-Hughes 

 Act on the following subjects: Analyzing the poultry enterprise, 

 analyzing the swine enterprise, and analyzing the potato enterprise. 

 Much favorable comment has been received from teachers in service 

 and from teacher-training divisions in the States on these publica- 

 tions. 



In continuation of cooperation with the State of North Carolina 

 in the preparation of a course of study in elementary agriculture, con- 

 ferences were held during the year with the State superintendent of 

 public instruction and with members of the staff of the college of 



