Students Perception Of Practical Agricultural Science In Senior Secondary Schools
[A CASE STUDY OF IFELODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OSUN STATE]

Student attitude toward Agricultural science and the practical aspect can be largely  determined by their erroneous perception of the profession as the main live -hood option for resource-poor peasants who have no other meaningful sustenance (Falaye and Ayoola, 2006) .According to Rameela (2004), Attitude is the liking or disliking of an object based on what is known about it. Attitude is important and is often used to understand and predict peoples reaction to an object or change, and how behavior can be influenced (Fishbern and Ajzeen 1975). Attitudes are fundamental to the dynamics of human behavior and is one of the key variables within the affective domain that influence learning and hence academic achievement (Weinburg,1995). Attitudes have a strong influence on people perception of things around them and help to determine their likes and dislikes (Okon, 1997). Student with positive attitude toward the learning of agricultural science often perform well than those with negative ones.
Adegboye (2000) asserted that student negative attitude toward mathematics is one of the major factor causing poor performance in the subject. Similarly, the negative attitude put on by student contribute to their poor response to practical agriculture, In 2010,the Chief Examiner’s Report on Agriculture Science indicated that fundamentals of agriculture and knowledge of practical agriculture were ignored by students. Olaitan (2004) asserted that students develop negative attitude toward agricultural science because it does not deviate significantly from the traditional practice at home and they conclude that the agricultural science teacher has nothing further to offer them. Okebukola (1996) reported that the attitude of the student determines his/her disposition to school work and how well he will use his knowledge. Aremu (1997) also reported that there was a significant relationship between student attitude and performance. He therefore opined that if student attitude could be changed toward science, the performance in science subject would improve and was expected that more student would be taken science subject like Agricultural science and others, since agricultural science is being regarded as an important tools or instrument which can get Nigeria out of problem of unemployment and shortage of food.
In regard to gender, gender difference in students is often implicated in their attitude towards the learning of science subject like agricultural science and other profession. Though some findings have found differences between boy and girls in cognitive achievement in science subject (Aremu. 1999 and Granewell, 2000) whereas other investigations found no such differences (Ezewui, 1981, Adesoji 1999) female student tends to exhibit a dislike for science subjects like Agricultural science that usually involve strenuous practical that require physical exertion which is usually associated with fatigue and sometimes physical injuries.
Nwosu (1998) observed that the girls fail to participate in science subject due to their negative attitude on anything called science practical. They count agricultural science has been more tedious and energy chopping than any other vocational subject thereby regarding farm practical as male ventures. Shiyan and Inyang-Abia (2011) revealed that the male students’ attitude towards the Agricultural Science subject was significantly higher than that of the females. Falaye and Ayoola (2006) reported that practical component entails physical labour and strenuous farming gardening activities, girls being weaker than boys usually prefer practical activities that are less tasking on physical energy and tend to dislike subject like agricultural science practical component. On a contrary Animasahun (2005) argued that both boys and girls can perform brilliantly in learning generally if they are exposed to the same learning opportunities.
Hindrances to Teaching and Learning of Practical Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools
Agriculture in general is faced with many hindrance and Challenges. Due to its great and enormous importance the hindrance needs to be looked into  Agricultural Science  involves a lot of practical activities. Therefore, lack of funds to acquire the needed teaching and learning resources for practical work  impede the effective teaching and learning of the subject. According to Awuku et al. (1991), lack of textbooks, poor management, and poor funding are among the factors that impede the teaching and learning of Agricultural Science. Similarly, Ssekamwa (2009) posits that lack of funds and inadequate funds to run practical education have reduced the effectiveness of undertaking practical education in subjects like agriculture. Thus, leading to theoretical instruction of Agricultural Science in many schools. According to Government of Ghana (2003), schools have inadequate funds to provide all the necessary materials for practical work. Some also have no school farm.