ERIC Number: ED446229
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1999-May
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1440-480X
EISSN: N/A
Learning on the Job: How Do Farm Business Managers Get the Skills and Knowledge To Manage Their Businesses? CRLRA Discussion Paper Series.
Kilpatrick, Sue
The methods used by Australian farm managers to obtain the skills and knowledge needed to manage their businesses were examined. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 85 farm owners/managers from South Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania, and New South Wales. The farmers interviewed identified a wide range of learning sources in the following categories: (1) training (formal and nonformal educational activities); (2) people who are not part of a training activity (other farmers, acquaintances, employees, consultants, and other experts); (3) print, audio, visual, and electronic media; and (4) experience and observation. Most farmers consulted multiple learning sources before altering their management practices. The sources for learning varied according to the purpose of the learning. Training was used relatively more often by those changing their methods of keeping records. All 85 businesses surveyed had used knowledge or skills gained from participation in at least one organized education or training activity in their farm management practices, including when making changes to their practices. However, people were the most frequently cited learning source for all changes, including new enterprise and record-keeping changes. Women were more likely to report learning from experience, whereas men were more likely to use organized training activities as a learning source. (Contains 22 references.) (MN)
Descriptors: Adult Education, Adult Learning, Agribusiness, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Occupations, Business Administration, Business Skills, Comparative Analysis, Conventional Instruction, Education Work Relationship, Educational Needs, Educational Opportunities, Educational Research, Experiential Learning, Farm Management, Foreign Countries, Informal Education, Information Sources, Learning Processes, Literature Reviews, Needs Assessment, Nonformal Education, On the Job Training, Recordkeeping, Rural Areas, Rural Education, Sex Differences, Skill Development, Womens Education
Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia, P.O. Box 1214, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia, Tel: 03 6324 3142, Fax: 03 6324 3040, E-mail: Lamanda.Harris@utas.edu.au, Web site: http://www.crlra.utas.edu.au ($3 Australian).
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Tasmania Univ., Launceston (Australia). Center for Research and Learning in Regional Australia.
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A