UC Riverside UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Edward J. Wickson's Quiet Voice for Change: The Origins of California's Secondary Agricultural Education Curriculum in the Early Twentieth Century Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2026f6rs Author Smith, Scott Charles Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Edward J. Wickson's Quiet Voice for Change: The Origins of California's Secondary Agricultural Education Curriculum in the Early Twentieth Century. A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Scott Charles Smith June 2012 Dissertation Committee Dr. Margaret Nash, Chairperson Dr. Melanie Sperling Dr. Begonia Echeverria Copyright by Scott Charles Smith 2012 The Dissertation of Scott Charles Smith is approved: _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgments I have had the good fortune to work with a number of devoted scholars who guided me along the path of learning. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Margaret Nash, who was the ultimate advisor and mentor. Her implementation of the History Writing Group at University of California, Riverside created a forum for constructive criticism in a positive environment. If anyone ever deserved the title Clio, it is her. I also wish to recognize Dr. Melanie Sperling, who helped me understand the ambiguity of my words, thereby honing my ability to communicate in written form. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Begoña Echevierria‟s support and advice in refining my dissertation. I would like to thank all of the members of University of California, Riverside‟s History Writing Group, both past and present. The feedback provided by this group of scholars prepared me for the various bumps along the road toward my dissertation and defense. Special thanks go to Kathleen Adams and Terry Tomlinson, both of whom gave great advice regarding the dissertation process. Their ideas and guidance helped me understand the dissertation through the eyes of a graduate student. Finally, I owe the greatest debt to my family. My wonderful wife read my numerous papers, probably as many times as I have, and made countless corrections. She suffered along with me during my bouts of doubt, always encouraged me, and pushed me to new heights. Finally, her support in holding down the fort at home made it possible for me to dedicate the time necessary to finish my research. To my wonderful children who have suffered through many days without their father. To everything my family has sacrificed, I thank you and just want to say, “Daddy is coming home.” iv S, J, J, B, I, L forever v ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Edward J. Wickson's Quiet Voice for Change: The Origins of California's Secondary Agricultural Education Curriculum in the Early Twentieth Century. by Scott Charles Smith Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate School of Education University of California, Riverside, June 2012 Dr. Margaret Nash, Chairperson This study examines Edward J. Wickson‟s involvement in the origins of California‟s secondary agricultural education curriculum. Wickson held a variety of positions in the College of Agriculture at the University of California from 1876 through 1915. Additionally, he was the editor of the Pacific Rural Press, an influential publication popular in the agricultural community. During this same time period, agricultural education in California‟s secondary schools took root and spread rapidly. Within eleven years, agricultural education grew from non-existence in California‟s high schools to being included in nearly one-third of them. The purpose of this study is to understand the socio-historical context of the tension between California‟s academic and agricultural communities and Wickson‟s involvement in mediating this conflict, while quietly advancing his educational agenda. Additionally, this study explores the various changes in the agricultural education curriculum within California‟s educational institutions prior to the passage of the Smith- Hughes Act of 1917. By investigating the origins of agricultural education within vi California‟s secondary schools, this study offers a portrayal of the rural community during a period of tension and transition and an agricultural education community that struggled with self-identity during the early twentieth century. The data for this study includes a variety of primary sources, including personal correspondence, local and national newspaper articles, secondary agricultural education textbooks, and California‟s Agricultural Experiment Station bulletins. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………..…..…..1 Chapter I: “Edward J. Wickson”……………………………….…..…..……34 Chapter II: “Agrarianism in California”……………………………..….…...57 Chapter III: “Educational Reform in California”………………………….…83 Chapter IV: “California‟s Secondary School Agricultural Education”…......124 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….…163 Bibliography………………………………………………………………..177 viii Introduction A career involving agriculture, in some form, was always a goal of mine. As a child, my family and I worked a small half acre garden, raising a variety of crops and citrus in Southern California. We frequently bartered with our neighbor for a few select types of produce, to add further variety to our diet. My father and grandfather told accounts of their youth growing up farming and my uncle‟s forty-acre raisin farm was extolled in family stories. In high school I joined the FFA and competed in a variety of state competitions in horticulture, eventually winning fourth place in the state and leading my team to my high school‟s first visit to the National FFA Landscape/Horticulture competition in Kansas City, Missouri. These experiences led me to believe in the viability of an agricultural career. However, I also had a desire to teach in secondary schools. Teaching agricultural education was the natural result of combining my passion for agriculture and education. Even though my first teaching credential was in the field of agriculture, I quickly realized that I needed to transfer into the sciences to feed my young family. Finding a job within California‟s secondary school system is an extension of the principles of supply versus demand and the sheer number of opportunities. A comparison of educational employment websites such as Edjoin and California Agricultural Teachers‟ Association‟s job opportunities indicates that while agricultural teaching positions were, and currently are, in demand, the numbers of high schools offering agricultural programs is rather small. Science, on the other hand, offered a greater number of opportunities for employment. In order to graduate from high school within California, a student must take 1 both a physical and a life science course. This requirement necessitates that every secondary school have at least one or two science positions. Ten years ago, as a recent graduate of my credentialing program, I quickly realized the benefits of having both an agricultural and a biological background within the secondary school job market. The Pariah Known as Agricultural Education As a newly hired biology teacher in 2000, I quickly realized agricultural education, along with other forms of vocational education, was often seen as a pariah within the educational community. Since agricultural education was not a core academic class, secondary instructors, even ones in closely related fields such as the biological sciences, typically viewed it with moderate disdain.1 Coming from an agricultural background, I wondered why. When the goal was to teach students and to meet their various educational needs, why did teachers within closely aligned departments have such animosity toward their colleagues‟ subject matter? At the university level, a large amount of curricular cross-over occurs within the agricultural and scientific disciplines. For example, various universities‟ plant science courses can be listed as either agricultural, botanical or biological courses. The same course, with the same basic catalog description, can be found within three different departments at various universities. Little did I understand, however, that, at the secondary school level, agricultural education was considered to be vocational rather than academic, and vocational education in general had a culture unto itself. This culture, 1 Brian K. Warnick, Gregory W. Thompson, and Edith S. Gummer, "Perceptions of Science Teachers Regarding the Integration of Science into the Agricultural Education Curriculum," Journal of Agricultural Education 45, no. 1 (2004). 2 though outwardly welcoming, was cautious of outsiders and fearful of being marginalized.2 Two main factors contributed to the establishment, and reinforcement, of this culture within the collegiate and secondary agricultural education communities. The first factor was the organization of secondary educator preparation programs within various universities, and the second was the educational environment in which new secondary agriculture teachers typically found themselves once they were hired. The establishment of agriculture teacher preparation programs is found within the Morrill Act of 1862. At first glance, the federal law established the land-grant college system. However, few