Soil Science As a Core Class: Lessons from Agricultural Curricula in Uganda.

Soil science serves an integral role in primary education in areas where agriculture dominates livelihoods. Extracurricular activities such as FFA and 4-H supplement core classes in much of rural America. In Uganda, soil science is integrated into formal curricula and serves as a fundamental pillar in public education. A collaboration between Iowa State University (USA), the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (USA), and Makerere University (Uganda) created a Service-Learning program to the Kamuli district in Uganda, in which a binational team of university students spends five weeks every year teaching various subjects to 4-7 grade students, and implementing numerous agricultural projects on school grounds. Soil science numbers among the classes taught.

As part of the Ugandan school curriculum, primary students are exposed to complex and abstract concepts at an early age. Concepts such as erosion, contamination, and organic matter are difficult for 9-12 year olds to grasp, a problem that is exacerbated with limited teaching resources and large class sizes. However, with the nearby school garden and easy access to agricultural land within walking distance of the classroom, visualizations of rill erosion, tillage, soil fauna and other topics in basic soils science facilitated better learning of otherwise difficult concepts.

While many concepts are difficult for primary students to visualize, soil science serves as a gateway to biological, chemical, and physical concepts that are more difficult to comprehend. With access to in-situ examples of soil science elements and an approach that appeals to multiple learning styles, core soil concepts can be taught affordably and effectively.