AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

This thesis is based on experiences with innovative agriculture curricula during the 1980's and 1990's. Predictions at the time of the research indicated a need for different instructional roles and educational settings within university undergarduate curricula. The ideas for a New University in the USA and a need for improved agriculture curricula in Australia were compatible with the approach of the Hawkesbury experiential agriculture curricula developed in 1978. The research demonstrated the key competency development aspects of the original experiential curriculum could be maintained in the 1995 university curriculum, within fragmented subjects. There was some evidence the curriculum outcomes were narrower in terms of career awareness. Personality type influenced student perceptions of the difficulty and value of the experiential components of their curriculum. The correlation between experiential curricula and personality type suggets that new curricula content should include the concept of personality and also should be used in designing curricula. New courses in Human Resource Development in Rural Communities were suggested. Other opportunities for using experiential curricula including personality typology were University of Western Sydney majors, summer schools for international students and in-service training courses for governemnt organisations and private enterprises. Several research opportunities were identified. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)