Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
12-1989
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Major Professor
Carrikk B. Coakley
Committee Members
Walter A. Cameron, Don E. McNelly, S. Darrel Mundy
Abstract
The principal purpose of the study was to determine if the educational experience of the Tennessee Rapid Adjustment Program from 1962 until 1987 translated into gains for selected farm managers. A secondary purpose of the study was to evaluate other variables associated with farming. These other variables were farm resources, operator characteristics and characteristics of family members associated with the farm.
Farms were initially chosen for inclusion on the Rapid Adjustment Program because of significant variations in Tennessee topography, soils, climatic and physiographical conditions. One-hundred twenty farms were selected to be on the Rapid Adjustment Program for four years. Data were collected for one base year and for each of the four years the farm was on the program. Data collection began in 1962 and continued until 1987. Four-hundred sixty four farm years of the total 600 possible farm years were used in the analysis. This number of farm years was used due to the unavailability of certain years of data and some farm managers not completing the program.
Multiple regression analysis was employed to allow for the separate explanation of the variation in four dependent variables by several independent variables. A second analysis of partial sums of squares was conducted to allow for the study of effects of independent variables when other effects were considered. Findings of the study indicated that significant financial gains were made by Rapid Adjustment farm managers over the four program years. Farm resources such as limited labor, debt, farm size and new adjustments to the farm business significantly affected gains on the program. Operator characteristics such as age and amount of formal education also affected program outcomes. Family size, the active role of the spouse, and the amount of off-farm work affected the financial gains on the program. Program gains were significant over the years of experience considering all other effects.
Based on these findings farm management instructors should consider the effects of the entire family and family goals when educating farm managers. New technologies will take longer to apply and should be considered by the instructor before the program length is set. Less formally educated farm operators may overcome the lack of formal education by intensive training. Despite the resources and the restrictions of the manager, the instructor can achieve success with specific instructional programs.
Recommended Citation
Gray, Morgan D., "An analysis of the Rapid adjustment program educational experiences in the Tennessee valley. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1989.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/11652
