Tonga Form 6 Curriculum - Agriculture

The Tonga Form 6 Agriculture curriculum follows the regional Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate (PSSC) Agriculture syllabus. The following information is based on the SPFSC Agriculture syllabus:

Course Aims:

• To develop student interest in and enjoyment of primary production in agriculture.
• To understand the relationships between consumer needs and sustainable primary production.
• To recognize and understand the biological, environmental, and economic principles involved in producing marketable primary produce.
• To recognize the value and importance of sustainable primary production principles to the Pacific Islands.
• To understand regulatory controls affecting primary production.
• To apply scientific methods in local field and laboratory studies of selected types of primary production.
• To foster continuing interest in primary production and awareness of vocational opportunities.

Course Content:

The course consists of three strands:

1. Primary Production: This strand examines local and export primary production and analyzes the influence of market controls, including market opportunities, market controls, and processing of a primary product.

2. Sustainable Primary Production: This strand analyzes primary production practices that ensure sustainable primary production, covering topics such as management practices, husbandry/agronomy practices, and global issues affecting primary production.

3. Production Management: This strand focuses on the production management of a locally produced animal primary product and a locally produced plant primary product, including the schedule of operations and factors influencing the schedule.

Assessment:

The course assessment consists of two components:

• External Assessment (70%): A three-hour written examination assessing learning outcomes from all three strands.
• Internal Assessment (30%): Two tasks:
• Practical Investigation (20%): An independent investigation into an aspect of the production process for a primary product.
• Case Study (10%): A study of a specific aspect of agricultural production.

Specific learning outcomes, detailed content, and assessment criteria for each strand and sub-strand are available in the SPFSC Agriculture syllabus. The syllabus also includes suggested teaching time, assessment blueprints, and appendices with teacher and student guidelines for internal assessment tasks.