Perceptions of Learning Outcomes of Students who Participated in the Spanish FFA Creed Speaking Event

Abstract

The Hispanic population in the U.S. is growing at a rapid rate and Spanish has become a predominant language, which could pose problems if more students are enrolling in school with limited English proficiency. In 2010, the Texas FFA Association implemented the Spanish Creed speaking event in order to help Spanish-speaking FFA members realize the goals of premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. However, no research exists examining the perceptions of students involved in this event. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceived learning outcomes of students who have participated in the Texas FFA Spanish Creed speaking event. Results revealed that the majority of participants were U. S. born who reported English as their first language. Responsibility was reported as the learning outcome most realized by participants. Additionally, results showed that females were associated with higher levels of responsibility, communication skills, and listening skills. Respondents whose first language was Spanish reported higher levels of responsibility. Additionally, the longer participants were in FFA, the higher their scores were for the various learning outcomes. Results suggest that using culturally responsive teaching in the form of the Spanish FFA Creed can have positive benefits for student learning outcomes.