Relationship Between Level of Adequacy of The School Farm and The Acquisition of Agricultural Skills Among Secondary School Students

Abstract Teaching and learning of Agriculture at the secondary school level aims at improving the learners’ agripreneural skills so as to enable them take an active role in the agricultural value chain in the future. Proper implementation of the Agriculture curriculum in Kenyan secondary schools can thus help in mitigating the rampant youth unemployment and food insecurity. Owing to its vocational nature, the implementation of Agriculture demands the incorporation of an array of resources and facilities; the school farm being considered the most important. It is within this facility where students get the opportunity to engage in practical activities thus reinforcing the theoretical concepts learnt. This study sought to determine the relationship between level of adequacy of the school farm and the acquisition of agricultural skills among secondary school students in Malava Sub-County, Kakamega County, Kenya. Correlational research design was adopted. Using the Yamane formula, 150 form three students of Agriculture were sampled from 15 schools. One Agriculture teacher was selected from each of the sampled school. Questionnaires and an observation guide were used to gather data. Chi-square test of relationship was used to analyse the findings of this study aided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. The study established that adequacy of the school farm significantly contributes to acquisition of agricultural skills. Keywords: Practical agricultural skills; School farm; Agriculture; Secondary schools