Students Perception Of Practical Agricultural Science In Senior Secondary Schools
[A CASE STUDY OF IFELODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OSUN STATE]

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
    Globally, education today is widely known as the most effective investment a country can make. According to World Bank (2007) , education  is one of the critical pathway to promote social and economic development.
 It Education may be define as a process of training individuals in any society  to acquire appropriate knowledge and skills and to develop the minds intellectually  in order to live useful life and contribute to the progress of society through acquire skill and knowledge. Education may be form as in the case of established schooling systems. Education is said to be non-formal when training of the offspring is though the traditional method of acquiring knowledge and skill.
 It can bring about a better life, better world and raises economic development, it can improve the wellbeing of family and ensure better prospect of education for children (Galchukia, 1999). Secondary schools are the intermediary institutions between primary schools and tertiary institutions.  In the present 9-3-4 system of education in Nigeria, the last three years of nine year basic education is for upper basic  (Junior Secondary) while the three years is for Senior  secondary (FRN,2013). Its curriculum contains subjects that are capable of preparing its students to live a useful life within the society and also prepare them for higher education,  one of the subjects that can help in attaining these  objectives is Agricultural science. Agriculture is being defined by different experts based on the field of specialization or understanding. Agriculture therefore, refers to the human activity of cultivating crops and plantations for production of food and goods such as fibers, befouls, animal feed and livestock’s. In a broader sense, agriculture also includes breeding and raising livestock, poultry and dairying (Neok, 2011).
    The need for agricultural science education in the Nigeria secondary schools system cannot be over emphasized due to the enormous impact of the agricultural sector on the nation’s economy. Agriculture plays a critical role in job creation & poverty alleviation by successive government in Nigeria through different programmes .The Nigerian agriculture had suffered neglect for decades due to the discovery of oil. However, the sector still contributes significantly to the nation’s gross domestic product. As highlighted by Adegboye (2004), agriculture contributes more than 30 percent of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs about 70 percent of the labour force, accounts for over 90 percent of the nation’s non-oil exports and provides over 80 percent of the country’s food resources. Most African economies are dominated by agriculture, which contributes about 17% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 40% of exports, employment creation and has the potential to reduce poverty. The agricultural sector has been described as the engine for economic growth and improved livelihoods in Africa (World Bank 2006; Diao et al., 2007).
Practical aspect of Agricultural science is so vital to national growth and productivity. According to the National Policy on Education (2004), Agriculture is one of the subjects offered in  Junior and Senior Secondary Schools, as a pre-vocational elective and vocational elective respectively (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2013). The teaching and learning of agricultural science in Nigeria secondary schools is far from satisfactory due to student perception and approach used in teaching the subject as pointed out by Sekamu (2009) , that agriculture is taught theoretically and has  failed  to make an impression on the society. Practical Agriculture is the practical work that facilitates the process of Acquisition of basic knowledge and practical skill that prepare students for occupation in Agriculture.