Math Infusion in Agricultural Education and Career and Technical Education in Rural Schools

Abstract

Historically, rural schools and the educational opportunities that they offer have been viewed as inferior to that of the urban and suburban counterparts (Howley & Gunn, 2003). It is no surprise that rural education faces its own set of challenges meeting the demands of educational legislation. Small populations and geographical isolation are major factors school administrators must face in order to offer a high quality education to its students (Reeves, 2003). Rural education also offers many advantages that most urban and suburban schools are not able to utilize, their agricultural education program. Formal agricultural education started in America when the Smith-Hughes Act legislation passed in 1917. This legislation put agriculture in the secondary education classroom to prepare students for the workforce. From that point agricultural education has had its role in the formal education system. In 1998, the federal government passed the Carl D. Perkins Federal Vocational and Technical Education Act. This legislation increased the amount of money for Career and Technical Education (CTE). Because more vocational jobs are requiring postsecondary degrees academic-vocational integration is now more significant. Agricultural educators are preparing their students for future careers as biologists, business and industry leaders, political officials, and many other advanced careers. Agriculture allows for the opportunity to make and mathematics both real and relevant to the student. Science and mathematics in agriculture is not a new development. John Hillison (1996) stated that the scientific revolution in American agriculture occurred in the late 1800s because farmers demanded more scientific research, which led to the passage of the Hatch Act in 1887. This legislation paved the way for agricultural experimentation, scientific research, and the cooperative extension service. Agriculture is an applied and applied mathematics, why are we just now concerned with incorporating and math into career and technical education? There have been many steps that have led up to the infusion of academics and CTE. The 1990 amendment to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984 provided funds to integrate academic and vocational education (Powell, Agnew, & McJunklin, 2005/2006). This amendment gave more money to schools who were integrating the curriculum. Infusing academic learning standards into CTE will help strengthen the entire academic curriculum. AU students need an understanding of basic concepts. Teaching through agriculture would incorporate more agriculture into the curricula, while more effectively teaching science (National Research Council, 1988). Also, 39% of high school seniors are not performing at a basic level in mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). Thus, there is a need for and mathematics enhanced CTE curriculum. We as educators want all students to have an understanding of basic academic skills. The reason we teach the basic skills is students can transfer that knowledge to new situations (Powell, Agnew, & McJunklin, 2005/2006). A successful student will be able to transfer that knowledge to a new situation, thus this successful student becomes a productive member of society. With the No Child Left Behind legislation, current CTE programs are at risk. Students must achieve in proficiency in nine subgroups (Daggert, 2003). If CTE cannot adapt to the standards of NCLB, there may not be viable option. If CTE starts to decrease in numbers, school administrators may not see the importance of vocational education and cut programs. CTE must adapt to the changes in our education system in order to survive. Because of legislation like No Child Left Behind, the reauthorization of Perkins funding; career and technical education has a questionable role in our educational system (Stone, Alfeld, Pearson, Lewis, & Jensen, 2005). …