Developing Integrated Ict Model For Improving Skill Of Rural Youth For Attracting Rural Youth Towards Agriculture An Experimental Study

Abstract

The study entitled Developing Integrated ICT Model for improving skill of rural newlineyouth for attracting rural youth towards agriculture An experimental study aimed to newlinebring out socio personal characteristics of rural youth, their ICT usage pattern. newlineThe effort has been taken to assess the agricultural skill gap among the rural youth newlinerespondents and factors affecting knowledge and skill gain among the rural youth. newlineRural youth from four blocks namely, Agatheeswaram, Rajakkamangalam, newlineKurunthencode and Thovalai were involved in the study. Purposive sampling method was newlineopted in which the rural youth were selected randomly from the voluntary capacity- newlinebuilding list maintained under the KVK. As the study deals with four experiments such newlineas, Treatment I (Multimedia slides + Video), Treatment II (Whatsapp + Video), newlineTreatment III (Mobile application + Video) and Treatment IV (Web page + Video) the newlinetotal 160 samples were split into four equal parts comprising 40 samples each. Before- newlineafter randomized group design was adopted for the study. The effectiveness of the newlinetreatments were measured using knowledge gain and knowledge related to skill newlineacquisition. newlineThe statistical tools viz, percentage analysis, cumulative frequency, correlation, newlinemultiple linear regression, backward regression, ANOVA, paired-t test, multinomial newlinelogistic regression and factor analysis were used to analyze the data. newlineThe profile characteristics of the respondents revealed that, nearly half of them newlinefalls under the age group of 30-35 in which male respondents were predominant. newlineRegarding their educational status, all of them have undergone formal education, with newlinerespect to their occupational status, only one-fourth of the rural youth respondents were newlinesolely dependent on farming, where more than half of the rural youth respondents hold newlinethe farm size of less than 2.5 acres. Majority of the rural youth respondents fell under newlinemedium category in the variables such as, extension agency contact, mass media newlineexposure, information seeking behavior, achievement motiva