Int. J. Engng Ed. Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 86±92, 2006 Printed in Great Britain.
0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00 # 2006 TEMPUS Publications.
Agricultural Machinery Education in Turkey* È CEL TEKIN, RIDVAN ARSLAN and YAHYA ULUSOY MU Uludag University, Vocational School of Technical Sciences, GoÈruÈkle, 16059, Bursa, Turkey. E-mail:
[email protected] The education of agricultural machinery technicians is performed by the vocational schools in Turkey. One of the main problems of the agricultural sector in Turkey is the lack of qualified technicians. Parallel to the changing agricultural engineering concept in Europe, new technologies have been launched for teaching of agricultural machinery technicians. New and expanded areas like GPS and GPRS for management, technical-biological system analysis, and natural Resources Technology have been included in the agricultural technologies disciplines of traditional Universities of Agricultural Colleges in the EU. Modern agricultural machinery technician courses include the subjects of information technologies, mechatronics, sensor technology and robotics. The most important step to take in Agricultural machinery programs is to increase the quality of agricultural education and to identify where it stands in international standards. Throughout the membership application process of Turkey prior to joining the EC, there has been a need for the application of new technologies and more qualified, sustainable education for agricultural machinery technicians who will be welcomed by the EU countries. In this paper, we describe the model and curriculum of agricultural machinery technician education of the Uludag University. Keywords: agricultural machinery; technician education; European Union programs; credit transfer
to be supported by increasing the quality of technology and the quality of its workers as well as the productivity. In addition to this and taking into consideration that approximately 10% of those working in agricultural machinery sector are technicians and engineers and that the education level of the farmers is less than those working in other sectors, it can be said that the agricultural machinery sector needs qualified technicians more than the other sectors. Studies have been carried out in the field of improving the economic, legal and educational policies in order to encourage the sector to use the agricultural machinery to full capacity and with understanding, which has importance for the country's agricultural economy and productivity. In these studies, the most important duty is that of the education policy planners plus the effective application of those plans by technical education institutions. In this paper, education methods have been examined from the point of quality and efficiency in education of agricultural machinery technicians and the accreditation studies of the Uludag University Vocational School of Technical Science (UUVSTS).
INTRODUCTION THE AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY sector in Turkey is about half a century old. The sector has improved from the level in which it produced simple tools and machinery and progressed them to the level in which it can use modern technologies and export to the other countries. With 1012 firms and nearly 15,000 workers, the sector has been manufacturing about 500 models of 122 different types of agricultural machinery and has been exporting these products both in domestic and foreign markets [1]. Turkey exported 4548 tractors in the value of 50.6 million dollars and agricultural machinery in the value of 26.4 million dollars. The USA, Italy, Mexico and South Africa are the some of the countries that Turkey exports tractors to. She has exported the most agricultural machinery to France, Syria, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Algeria, Greece and Morocco. Harvesters, tillage implements and machines used in animal husbandry are the main types of exported agricultural machinery (Statistics of MA, 2003) [2]. In our country, 39% of people deal with agriculture and due to the fact that 70% of the fields used in agriculture is below 5 Ha, small-scale agricultural machinery producers are forced to work according to the local demands, and as a result of which the related firms cannot adapt themselves to the new technologies so work with low capacity [3]. In this point, it is clear that the agricultural machinery sector in our country needs
THE EDUCATION OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY TECHNICIAN In Turkey, there are three educational institutions in the agricultural machinery discipline. These are Vocational High Schools, Vocational Schools and Agricultural Faculties. Vocational High Schools are connected to the Ministry of
* Accepted 21 August 2005.
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Fig. 1. Agricultural machinery education model applied in Turkey.
Education or to the Ministry of Agriculture. The graduates of these high schools can either become technicians or attend the Vocational Schools, which are the institutions above the Vocational High Schools where courses last for two years. Vocational School graduates can also become technicians or attend the agricultural faculties provided that they succeed in passing the vertical transfer exam. Faculties of Agriculture accept students directly from the secondary schools and give them four years of education. In Fig. 1, this education and credit transfer model is shown [4]. Among these institutions, Vocational Schools gain the greatest proportion of students. This proportion is normal since these schools aim to educate qualified intermediate personnel between engineers or administrators and workers. Every year 350 students on average graduate from 10 Vocational Schools located in different regions of the country and then they start working [5]. Six of the ten Vocational Schools were supported by the Council of Higher Education of Turkey/ World Bank between 1990 and 1994 within the framework of 1st and 2nd Industrial Education Projects. The educational facilities were improved by means of modern educational materials and at the same time educators were trained in different countries for 3- or 9-month periods.
The technicians who graduate from the agricultural machinery program are the technical personnel who are between the top level administrator or engineer and the technical workers. They have more theoretical knowledge than the workers and have more practical ability than the engineers. A person qualified with these skills can undertake leadership or administrative roles by working with the cooperation of the others in small or medium scale firms. AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY PROGRAM OF ULUDAG UNIVERSITY The UUVSTS is one of the schools supported by the Council of Higher Education of Turkey/World Bank within the framework of the 2nd Industrial Education Project. Within its structure, there are 18 technical programs apart from the Agricultural Machinery Program. From the point of view of the present situation, it is a school planned to provide continuous education and a technology center which is in the International Accreditation process and which serves as a model to the other schools. National and international accreditation should be taken into consideration to realize not only the guarantee of quality but also the necessary changes to keep up with the contemporary educational
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standards and to preserve them. The educational system can be improved with feedback such as the job functions of the graduates, the numbers of the graduates, the means to success and the rates of job securement. The main target of the Agricultural Machinery Program is to educate the intermediate personnel who can effectively use the new or modernized agricultural machinery including computerized control systems. An agricultural machinery technician is a person who has enough knowledge and ability in the basic machinery and agriculture, who knows the system and equipments being used in the production of agricultural machinery and in the process of agricultural products. The education and knowledge given to the students can lead the students to rearrange the working environment accordingly, to set up good relations with other people, and to follow the improvements in the advanced information technology. Organization model of the Agricultural Machinery Program The Agricultural Machinery Program actively applies the organization model of vocational schools of the Council of Higher Education of Turkey/World Bank within the framework of the Industrial Education Project, which is shown in Fig. 2. The presence of the Program Advisory Board is the most important point in this organization. This Board forms the primary decisionmaking mechanism in planning and following the plans and evaluating them. In this context, the program decides on the education planning strategies together with the Advisory Board, which has been formed to provide education on agricultural production and after sales service. The members of the board are formed by the representatives of the relevant sectors. At present, the board carries on its activities with three members: a member from UGURKAN AS (a joint stock company); a member from TARIMAK AS; and another member from NEW HOLLAND AS, representing the post-sales service sector. The members have regular meetings at school in order to value the program and get prepared to put forward some suggestions with the aim of increasing quality. The program council consists of the educational staff taking part in the program and they ensure that the system works. In the education of the Agricultural Machinery
Program, a student who carries on his studies integrated with the industrial sector naturally needs more educational time. In the first year, students spend their time achieving basic information and abilities. At the end of the second term, they undergo training at different firms for 8 weeks within the framework of the Industry-Based Education (IBE). This IBE study can be carried on for 8 weeks at the end of the second year according to demand. Physical capabilities and educational staff The Agricultural Machinery Program of UUVSTS has a tractor, a plough, a fertilizer, a silage machine, a mowing machine and a bale spreader, which are used in agricultural production. It also has a workshop where maintenance and repair of agricultural machines is performed and a garage for diesel engines. At the workshops, parts of the machines are demonstrated according to modern working practice. There are also practical maintenance equipments, necessary tools, engine parts and measuring devices. In this program, there are two permanent staff, both of whom have a Ph.D. The education has been continuing with five staff from the Vocational High School of Technical Sciences, a professor from a related field, an assistant professor and two associate professors. Most of them have studied abroad in their fields within the Industrial Education Project of the Council of Higher Education of Turkey/World Bank. The above mentioned staff, as a result of their academic studies and their close relations with the sector, update themselves and continue their studies with the idea of total quality in education. Some educators from university or industry are appointed whenever needed according to the characteristics of the lesson. In the Agricultural Machinery Program, education is carried out using visual and practical methods. Therefore, teaching materials such as data projection, filmstrips, overhead projector, video player, computerized animations, and data sharing in the Internet are used. The teaching staff as much as possible prepare lesson notes, experiment sheets and textbooks. Curriculum development The curriculum of this program is updated in accordance with demands and needs of the sector. Parallel to the changing agricultural engineering
Fig. 2. The organization model of the Agricultural Machinery Program.
Agricultural Machinery Education in Turkey concept in Europe, new technologies have been launched for teaching of agricultural machinery technicians. New and expanded areas like GPS and GPRS for management, technical±biological system analysis, and natural resources technology have been included in the agricultural technologies disciplines of traditional Universities of Agricultural Colleges in EC [6]. As well as in our country, similar studies are going under way. Modern agricultural machinery technician courses will also include the subjects of information technology, mechatronics, sensor technology and robotics [7]. The general parameters considered in the improvement of curriculum are as follows: . to ensure the continuity of the education given in vocational high schools; . to integrate with similar programs accredited abroad; . to have qualities in order to meet the expectations of the sector; . to meet the needs of subjects according to the ideas and proposals of the graduates working in the industry; . to ensure vertical transfer to the faculties; . to offer elective courses in the programs. The proportions of the courses according to the scientific disciplines in the Agricultural Machinery Program of 2003±2004 academic year is given in Fig. 3, and the proportions of the vocational courses in the curriculum is given in Fig. 4. Especially in the elective courses, it has been taken into consideration that students should have knowledge, ability and the opportunity to diversify in their postgraduate life. CURRENT ACTIVITIES Accreditation and self-evaluation studies First of all, the educational institutions define vision and mission when they decide to improve
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education and create quality of culture. The Agricultural Machinery Program has arranged its program as follows: . As its mission, the Agricultural Machinery Program undertakes to educate the work force that industry service sector needs by supplying cultural values, communication abilities, research, culture and art, high quality education, supported by the contemporary information and abilities in the international fields (UUVSTS Self Evaluation Report, 2003) [8]. . The vision of the program is to supply high quality education, continuous development and qualified manpower the sector needs. . An education institute should thoroughly analyze its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and should also have the capacity to adapt for quality improvements. The Agricultural Machinery Program of UUVSTS values the SWOT analysis as shown in Table 1. ECTS and Diploma Supplement ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) determines the number of lessons that students have to study. This system shows all the theoretical and practical periods of the lessons that an institution has to complete. ECTS helps to improve the programs with other schools, to provide the equality of the academic institutions with similar features and to improve the cooperation. The Diploma Supplement is a document given in a standard format in the EC countries and it gives the detailed information about the owner of it. The Agricultural Machinery Program has completed ECTS and Diploma Supplement studies (EU Education Policies, 2004). Institutional Revision Program of the Association of the European Universities EUA/IRP Uludag University, as a whole, has voluntarily applied for the Institutional Revision Program of the Association of the European Universities. This
Fig. 3. The proportions of the courses according to the scientific disciplines in the Agricultural Machinery Program.
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Fig. 4. The proportions of the vocational courses.
application has been made for the purpose of revision of the university's present situation during the accreditation process. The team of the Institutional Revision Program that consists of three experienced university rectors and a professor has evaluated the UUVSTS. The team examined the UUVSTS on 12/05/2003 and wrote a selfevaluation report. UUVSTS, which obtained a successful result from this process, believes that it took successful steps on the way to accreditation (UU-EUA Self Evaluation Report, 2003) [9]. International relations and projects In the Agricultural Machinery Program, UUVSTS, together with students, has been actively studying national and international projects. Research, improvement and pilot production of biodiesel fuel, which is on the agenda to use as an alternative fuel in Turkey, has been carried out in the laboratories of the program. On the international scale, a study of the Leonardo Da Vinci Technical Education Project has been carried out. In this context, a study visit to England was realized, a mobility project on the `Adaptation of New Technologies to Agricultural
Machinery Education' was given to study with Ingelstrop Agriculture and National Resource College in 2005. In addition to this, two educators are to do a research in Sweden for three weeks. Also, the pre-studies of the pilot project on `rural development' with Harper Adams University College in England are about to be submitted for approval. Working fields of the graduates Distributions of the graduates recorded in the periodical questionnaire are given in Fig. 5. From the point of view of employment, it is the most positive fact that most of the students graduating from the Agricultural Machinery Program are employed as technicians according to the objectives. Another success is that the number of students that successfully managed to pass the vertical transfer exam and attended the engineering faculty has considerably increased. CONCLUDING REMARKS Taking into consideration that educational institutions are the sources to meet the manpower of
Table 1. SWOT analysis of Agricultural Machinery Program of UUVSTS STRENGTHS Qualified educational staff Located in an agricultural and industrial area Industrial Education Project of the Counsel of Higher Education of Turkey/World Bank Ten years experience OPPORTUNITIES Project for changing the site to the continuous education and technology center Accreditation process Project of EU Leonardo Da Vinci Modular education studies
WEAKNESSES Insufficient investment for education Low income level of the education staff Low level of the students coming from vocational secondary schools
THREATS Economic crisis Income level of the education staff Little interest for the vocational education
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Fig. 5. Working fields of the graduates in the employment.
the industry, post-sales services and others, different strategies and road maps have been designated to educate the qualified manpower the sector needs. Spreading of these strategies nationwide by means of plans and necessary laws is a must for the higher education institutions, industry and service sectors alike. In Turkey, which is in the process of passing from an agricultural to an industrial society, the current agricultural potential should not be ignored but should be fully exploited. The way to enhance this is for agricultural industry to develop and be ready to compete against the other nations. With the thought that an agricultural establishment would only thrive by reinforcing the educational
substructure and increasing its quality, UUVSTS has been continuing the accreditation studies. The accreditation process has been a benefit for us, allowing us to increase the quality and productivity of education, to be well informed about the education of the agricultural machinery technicians in foreign countries, to know the strong and the weak sides of our educational system, to analyze the threats and to designate our opportunities. It can be said that the most important benefit of the accreditation studies is the increase of reliance on the productive educational activities instead of obligatory ones. This trust and confidence is quite encouraging for future educational programs.
REFERENCES 1. Export Promotion Center of Turkey (IGEME). http://www.igeme.org.tr/tur/yayin/makina/htm 2. Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Agriculture (MA). http://www.tarim.gov.tr/uretim/istatistikler/ aletmakina/istihdam.htm 3. Chamber of Agricultural Engineers (ZMO). http://www.zmo.org.tr/etkinlikler/abgst03/13.pdf 4. Higher Education Council of Turkey (YOK). http://www.yok.gov.tr 5. Student Selection and Placement Center of Turkey (OSYM). http://www.osym.gov.tr 6. D. Briassoulis, H. Papadiamandopoulou and B. S. Bennedsen, Towards a European Standard for Agricultural Engineering Curricula, AgroTechnology, Denmark (2001). ISBN 87-87414-02-5 KVL 7. L. Opara, Outlook for agricultural engineering education and research and prospects for developing countries, Outlook on Agriculture, 33, May 2004, pp. 101±111. 8. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies 9. Vocational High School of Technical Sciences of Uludag University, Self-evaluation Report, 2003. 10. European University Association, Institutional Review Programme, UU Self-evaluation Report, Attachments, 2003.
YuÈcel Tekin, Assoc. Prof. in UUVSTS, received his B.Sc. from Agricultural Faculty of Ankara University. He obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Agricultural Engineering Department of Uludag University. He has been working as a lecturer since 1992. His main field of interest is vocational education, tillage implements, soil compaction and agricultural machinery. He has been in the UK for a period of seven months to join a course concerning education and agricultural engineering. Ridvan Arslan, Assoc. Prof. in UUVSTS, received his B.Sc. from Technical Education Faculty of Gazi University. He obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Mechanical
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Y. Tekin et al. Engineering Department of Uludag University. He has been working as a lecturer since 1988. His main field of interest is valve mechanisms of internal combustion engines. He has been in the UK for a period of three months to join a course concerning education and mechanical engineering. He has been lecturing courses related to automotive technology, automotive electronic systems, engine-out emissions and power transmissions units. Yahya Ulusoy, lecturer in UUVSTS, received his B.Sc. from Agricultural Faculty of AtatuÈrk University. He obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Agricultural Engineering Department of Uludag University. He has been working as a lecturer since 1992. His main field of interest is alternative fuel technology.
