Preservice Agricultural Teachers Research Articles

Science Citizenship through Secondary Agricultural Education

Global society has major scientific challenges to solve over the coming decades including climate change and food insecurity. Considering school-based agricultural education can play an important role in developing scientifically literate and civically engaged citizens to help address these challenges, this study sought to describe and compare Pennsylvania agricultural education students’ science literacy, civic engagement, and science citizenship. In addition, the purpose of this study was to determine which variables of science literacy and civic engagement best predicted students’ science citizenship. Using a descriptive-correlational research design, the study utilized a questionnaire adapted from three existing instruments to measure science literacy, civic engagement, and science citizenship. Data was collected from a proportionate stratified random sample of Pennsylvania agricultural education programs for a total of (n = 197) students. The multiple linear regression model was found to be a significant predictor of students’ science citizenship and explained 57.8% of the variance. Civic skills efficacy, civic participation, value of science, science skills, and civic duty were significant predictors of students’ science citizenship. Recommendations from results include incorporating civic education that builds students civic skills into agricultural education curriculum, educating pre-service agriculture teachers how to incorporate civic engagement into their programs, and further research to determine the extent to which agriculture teachers currently support students’ civic engagement in their programs.

Preservice agriculture teachers’ perceived self-efficacy of specific SAE competencies

With the implementation of the supervised agricultural experience (SAE) within school-based agricultural education (SBAE), hands-on learning has changed how students learn in the classroom. SAE programs, a key component of agricultural education, are an example of experiential learning within the SBAE model. The implementation of SAE experiences has been often viewed as difficult for many teachers, and many new agricultural educators struggle with implementing SAE into their classroom instruction. Therefore, this study sought to determine the self-efficacy of preservice agriculture teachers towards the American Association for Agricultural Education-Supervised Agricultural Experience (AAAE) SAE competencies. Results indicated that a majority of preservice teachers considered SAE an important aspect of the SBAE model. However, results indicated that few competencies showed significant differences between pre- and post-completion of the agricultural program, and gender differences did not indicate much significance in self-efficacy. Data indicates that teacher preparation programs have been successful in preparing students to develop, implement, and supervise SAE programs during student teaching. The researchers recommend that further research should examine additional agricultural teacher preparation programs and determine the self-efficacy of cooperating teachers in the classroom.

“We’re More than Cows and Plows”: Preservice Agriculture Teachers Use Young Adult Literature to Construct Professional Identities

ABSTRACT The purpose of this collective case study was to explore the impact of using young adult literature in a content area literacy course to leverage the development of professional identities in preservice agriculture teachers (n= 4). Empirical studies of the literacy-based experiences and professional development of agricultural education majors are often absent in teacher education scholarship despite a growing need for agricultural expertise in schools. Interdisciplinary groupings, disciplinary textual study, and teaching demonstrations comprised participant activities in which participants catalyzed their pedagogies through literature. The study followed the qualitative principles of case study methodology and employed interviews, field notes, and artifactual analysis over the course of eight weeks. Results show participants cultivated professional identities by constructing literacy-based learning communities, practicing agricultural instructional design, establishing themselves as experts across multiple fields, and exhibiting feelings of isolation and skepticism in their ability to transfer literary-infused agricultural education from the preservice setting to practice in schools. Implications, interpretations, and recommendations for research are also discussed.

Agricultural Mechanics Preparation: How Much Do School Based Agricultural Education Teachers Recieve?

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the amount of preparation Iowa inservice secondary agricultural education teachers received in agricultural mechanics at the university level. Secondary School Based Agricultural Education instructors attending the Iowa Association of Agricultural Educators’ summer conference were given a paper-based survey instrument to report their perceptions of the agricultural mechanics skills and training they had received at the postsecondary level. Agricultural education teachers indicated that safety, welding, and construction were among the skills with highest concentration of instruction received at the postsecondary level. The areas in which teachers received the least amount of preparation were surveying, technology, and tractor skills. The overall lack of instruction in agricultural mechanics at the postsecondary level may lead to inexperienced and underprepared teachers. We recommended weekend or summer training be offered for inservice teachers who did not receive or received very little training at the postsecondary level. It is also recommended postsecondary institutions organize consistent ways in which agricultural mechanics courses are offered so that preservice agriculture teachers receive appropriate training prior to entering the profession.

Pioneering Spirit: Examining the Motives and Experiences of Non-SBAE Students Majoring in Agricultural Education

With the national shortage of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers and subsequent shortage of skilled workers in food, agriculture, and natural resources careers, more expansive recruitment and retention efforts are needed. Traditionally, preservice teachers in agricultural education originate from within SBAE, yet, some non-SBAE students still find their way to the agricultural education major with a desire to become SBAE teachers. The purpose of this bounded single case study was to understand the lived experiences of non-SBAE high school students majoring in agricultural education; specifically, the motives for majoring in agricultural education and the unique challenges associated with it. Documents were collected and interviews and observations over the course of one year were utilized to gather and analyze data. Researchers identified four major themes emerging from the data: a) Non-SBAE students are motivated by altruistic, intrinsic, and extrinsic values (three subthemes); b) non-SBAE pre-service teachers face common and unique challenges (two subthemes); c) faculty support is critical for persistence in the major; and d) non-SBAE students approach their career with uncertainty and caution. Implications and recommendations related to recruitment of youth and retention of non-SBAE preservice agriculture teachers are discussed.

Preservice Teachers' Experiences in a Required Reading in the Content Area Course

Strong literacy skills are needed to be successful in the 21st century. All teachers are charged with developing students’ literacy skills and abilities. To help better prepare preservice teachers for this task, students at the University of Missouri are required to take a Reading in the Content Area (RICA) course. This intrinsic case study focused on preservice agriculture teachers who were nearing completion of the RICA course. Two focus groups were conducted with a total of nine participants. Four themes emerged from the data: 1. students held misconceptions and concerns that were dispelled, 2. the structure and content made it an impactful, yet incomplete, experience, 3.they recognized the importance of literacy in agricultural education, and finally 4) they were still hesitant to use literacy in their future classrooms. Recommendations for practice include:adding a literacy component to microteaching experiences, developing confidence surroundingliteracy assessment abilities, and providing preservice teachers with literacy strategies specific to agricultural education.

Preservice Agriculture Teachers’ Development during the Early Phase of Student Teaching

The student teaching practicum experience is designed to give preservice teachers practical experience with teaching and is an important step in their development. While literature in agricultural education exists about preservice teacher professional development, little is known about the developmental process of agriculture teachers during the student teaching experience. Utilizing the theory of teacher concerns (Fuller & Brown, 1975) as a theoretical lens, the purpose of this qualitative document analysis was to determine how preservice teachers develop over the first half of the student teaching practicum by examining the way they talk about concerns. Written reflections of five different cohorts from 2010 through 2014 were analyzed at two different points in time (week two and week seven). During the first two weeks of student teaching, three themes emerged, including: 1) teacher/student identity crisis, 2) teaching competence: “I do not know how, what, or who…,” and 3) adjusting to change. During week seven, the concerns changed, which indicated the student teachers were developing into the professional role of a teacher. The three themes that emerged from the data for week seven were: 1) building professional relationships, 2) engaging students, and 3) it is about time: work-life balance. Implications exist for teacher educators to place more emphasis on teaching strategies to engage and motivate students in the learning process, rather than just the task itself. Recommendations are suggested for teacher educators to discuss with preservice teachers before student teaching the realities and challenges of balancing work and life roles.

The Development of Preservice Agriculture Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge through a Greenhouse for Teachers Course

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explain the development of preservice agriculture teachers’ PCK for the concept of plant fertilizers within a content-focused methods course. The emergent central phenomenon was an overall lack of PCK development for plant fertilizers, highlighted by five main themes that impeded the development. Preservice teachers felt less self- efficacious in horticulture content knowledge and possessed a greater desire for horticulture content knowledge over pedagogical knowledge. Additionally, the preservice teachers exhibited development of horticulture content knowledge and mathematics content knowledge through the unit. Finally, the lack of a content knowledge foundation inhibited the development of PCK in preservice teachers, despite the purpose of the course and vision of the instructor. Recommendations include more purposeful integration of PCK at the preservice level, utilization of tools like the CoRe rubric (Loughran, Mulhall, & Berry, 2004) during lesson planning, increased field experience imbedded in the teacher preparation program, and a more careful examination of the preservice teachers’ pre-existing content knowledge base prior to enrollment in the content-focused methods course.

The Influence of School-Based Agricultural Education on Preservice Agriculture Teachers’ Choice to Teach

Nationwide, agricultural education has experienced a shortage of qualified school-based agriculture teachers for over four decades. Students who seek careers as agriculture teachers are often those who participated in agricultural education and FFA in high school. The Ag Ed FITChoice® Model (Lawver 2009; Lawver & Torres, 2012) was used as the investigative framework for this phenomenological study, which sought to explore how active participation in school-based agricultural education programs influenced students’ choice to major in agricultural education and pursue a career in teaching. Seven agricultural education majors who participated in agricultural education and FFA in high school participated in a focus group interview. Transcripts of the focus group interview were analyzed and coded for thematic content using open, axial, and selective coding protocols. Five themes emerged from the data, which included, 1) socializer influencers, 2) social value 3) passion for agriculture, 4) alignment with personal values, and 5) agricultural education factors. The agricultural education factors theme was broken into four subthemes, which include agriculture teacher encouragement, FFA events, increased self-efficacy through a quality program, and post-high school opportunities. Based on the findings, implications and recommendations for recruitment are discussed.

Experiences of Agricultural Education Preservice Teachers Engaging in Critical Friendships

As teachers search for ways to improve their craft through reflection, critical friendships have proven to be effective at improving preservice and inservice teachers’ reflective behaviors. This qualitative study sought to understand the experiences of agricultural education preservice teachers participating in critical friendships with other agricultural education majors and with teachers in other disciplines. After three weeks of engaging in critical friendships, analysis of discussions between critical friends and interviews with participants indicated that, while the critical friendships were perceived as helpful, their utility was dependent on specific conditions within the teachers’ settings. Additionally, preservice agriculture teachers engaged in different types of discussions when working with peers within or outside the discipline. The findings and implications from this study can assist teacher educators in developing parameters for critical friendships that can ensure their effective use and success within agricultural education

Concerns of Female Preservice Teachers in Teaching and Supervising the Agricultural Mechanics Laboratory

Agricultural mechanics is a top career choice among secondary students enrolled in agricultural programs. Secondary agricultural mechanics teachers provide hands-on skill instruction with shielded metal arc welders, oxyfuel torches, and various hand tools in their agricultural mechanics laboratories. Preservice agriculture teachers have reported lack of preparation to adequately teach in this potentially dangerous environment. This qualitative case study explored the concerns of preservice teachers about teaching secondary students in the agricultural mechanics laboratory and how those concerns evolved over time. Researchers used a constructivist epistemology and open coding to identify and explore emergent themes. Three themes emerged from the data: 1) issues of trust and control in supervising laboratory students manifest themselves as a professional threat, 2) mechanics skill and supervisory skill development coincided with a change in focus toward student safety and learning, and 3) the agricultural mechanics laboratory provides unique instructional challenges and opportunities. Although each preservice teacher differed in their development, the authors identified persistent issues with agricultural mechanics skill knowledge and student trust.

Preservice Agriculturl Education Teachers' Experiences in and Anticipation of Content Knowledge Preparation

This study explored the experiences of preservice agriculture teachers in content knowledge preparation for pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development. The researchers employed a phenomenological approach in which six preservice teachers were interviewed the semester prior to student teaching. The researchers found there was general dissatisfaction with the majority of agriculture content courses among preservice teachers in terms of quality, quantity, and transferability of content. Interest in agriculture content areas, their views of expertise, and what they want their students to gain from their teaching were found to be possible influencers affecting the PCK development of preservice agriculture teachers. These findings provide support for further research to explore gaps in content knowledge and the professions’ understanding of PCK development in novice agriculture teachers. Recommendations include considering ways to incorporate content knowledge in pedagogy courses or working with content faculty on developing assignments to help preservice teachers learn content in meaningful ways.

Determining the Effects of Reflection Type and Cognitive Style on Students' Content Knowledge

The purpose of this exploratory, experimental study was to determine the effects that the type of reflection-in-action and students’ cognitive style had on content knowledge of preservice agriculture teachers (N = 57) at Oklahoma State University. Students’ cognitive style was assessed using Kirton’s Adaptation-Innovation Inventory (KAI). Students were classified as either more adaptive or more innovative. Students were assigned randomly to either a verbal or written reflection-in-action group in the completely randomized 2x2 design. A Lab Aids® classroom kit, based on the principles of biofuels, served as the content for the treatment. The findings of this study indicated that cognitive style and type of reflection-in-action did not affect students’ knowledge scores in an agriscience laboratory positively or negatively. As such, teachers can utilize either type of reflection-in-action without detriment to student learning. As this study was exploratory in nature, it is recommended that it be replicated with a larger sample size to increase generalizability. Additional research should focus on pairing students of similar and opposite cognitive styles to determine how their problem-solving ability and performance on tests is affected.

Preservice Agriculture Teachers' Perceived Level of Readiness in an Agricultural Mechanics Course

This longitudinal trend study sought to compare the perceptions of preservice agricultural education teachers, enrolled in a Metals and Welding course at a land grant university, on their welding related skills at the beginning of the semester to their final course grade at the end of the semester. Preservice agriculture teachers (N = 240) who completed the course between the Fall 2006 and Spring 2012 semesters served as the population for the study. Although the course is designed, specifically, to facilitate learning in metal fabrication, not one preservice teacher in any semester perceived an excellent ability in performing the welding related skills. However, skills related to shielded metal arc welding and gas metal arc welding were rated higher than those related to gas tungsten arc welding or oxyacetylene welding. The course instructor should be made aware of this discrepancy and encourage students to seek additional experiences in metals and welding. Further, the course instructor should continue to collect these data at the beginning and end of the course to determine the impact these changes have on students’ ability to perform and teach the skills as future instructors. Similar studies should be conducted in other areas of agricultural mechanics, such as small gasoline engines, plumbing, and agricultural structures.

Barriers to Conducting Supervised Agricultural Experiences as Perceived by Preservice Education Teachers

The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess preservice agriculture teachers’ perceptions of the importance of Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and their views on barriers to conducting SAE. A census of the sophomore-level agricultural education course at Oklahoma State University was conducted to measure perceptions at the beginning and end of the course. This study was framed upon Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior. Results indicated that preservice teachers perceived SAE was an important component of agricultural education and important at the secondary school they attended. The greatest barrier to conducting SAE was their lack of familiarity with newer SAE categories. This was true at both the beginning and end of the course. It is recommended that preservice teachers receive instruction on and experiences in all types of SAE. This would increase the likelihood of preservice teachers perceiving they have control over this barrier regarding SAE implementation. This cohort of preservice teachers should be surveyed over time to determine change in their perceptions of barriers to SAE implementation as they progress in the agricultural education program and through their careers. Further, the views of in-service teachers should also be assessed to determine if perceived barriers differ with professional experience.

Perceived Self-Efficacy of Preservice Agriculture Teachers toward Specific SAE Competencies

Since its inception, school-based agricultural education in the United States has utilized the home project method, later known as a supervised agricultural experience program (SAE), as a way to provide students with contextual, hands-on learning experiences outside of class that complement classroom learning. While most teachers realize the benefits of SAE programs, the use of SAE has declined over time, and many agriculture teachers new to the profession may not be as proficient in implementing SAE programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine preservice agriculture teachers’ self-efficacy of the AAAE-SAE Competencies. Results indicated that 95% of the respondents considered SAE to be important or somewhat important components of agricultural education. Additionally, all respondents reported to have moderately high efficaciousness for their ability to perform all of the SAE competencies. What is more, few differences were found between preservice teachers who possessed SAE and agricultural education experience versus preservice teachers who had little or no experience with SAE and agricultural education. The researchers recommend that teacher preparation program in agriculture continue to provide instruction over SAE and should implement learning experiences in SAE that provide authentic, relevant instruction to preservice teachers on developing, implementing, maintaining, sustaining, evaluating, and supervising an SAE program.

How Cognitive Style and Problem Complexity Affect Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers’ Abilities to Solve Problems in Agricultural Mechanics

The purpose of this experimental study was to determine the effects of cognitive style and problem complexity on Oklahoma State University preservice agriculture teachers’ (N = 56) ability to solve problems in small gasoline engines. Time to solution was operationalized as problem solving ability. Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation Inventory was administered to determine cognitive style as more adaptive or more innovative. Preservice teachers were assigned randomly, by cognitive style, to solve either a simple or complex problem in a small gasoline engine. The simple problem was related to the electrical system of the engine – specifically, a closed spark plug gap. The complex problem was related to the fuel/air delivery system; specifically, debris was placed into the main jet of the carburetor. To determine content knowledge, students were administered a 30-item, researcher developed criterion-referenced test. The findings of this study indicated that no statistically significant differences existed in content knowledge based on cognitive style. All students were able to solve their problem successfully; however, regarding time to solution, a statistically significant interaction effect existed between cognitive style and problem complexity. A simple main effects test revealed a statistically significant difference between the more innovative students based on problem complexity.

Effects of Mathematics Integration in a Teaching Methods Course on Mathematics Ability of Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of incorporating mathematics teaching and integration strategies (MTIS) in a teaching methods course on preservice agricultural teachers’ mathematics ability. The research design was quasi-experimental and utilized a nonequivalent control group. The MTIS treatment had a positive effect on the mathematics ability scores of the participants, and a statistically significant difference was found based upon the MTIS treatment. Based on the results of this study, the MTIS treatment should be considered for use in an agricultural teaching methods course to increase the mathematics ability of preservice agricultural education teachers.

Effects of Mathematics Integration in a Teaching Methods Course on Self Efficacy of Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers

Teachers who are efficacious persevere through challenges in the learning environment and put forth more effort in designing learning activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mathematics teaching and integration strategies (MTIS) on preservice agricultural teachers’ personal mathematics efficacy, mathematics teaching efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy in a teaching methods course. The research design was quasi-experimental and utilized a nonequivalent control group.Data were collected at the following three collection points; (a) week 1 of the semester; (b) week 12 of the semester/after the preservice teachers in the treatment group delivered their first mathematics enhanced lesson; and (c) week 15 of the semester. Participants were moderately efficacious in mathematics teaching efficacy and efficacious in personal mathematics efficacy and personal teaching efficacy at all three data collection points. Furthermore, significant differences were not found in the mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy of the preservice agricultural teachers based upon the MTIS treatment.

PRESERVICE AGRICULTURE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CAREER BARRIERS AND SUPPORT

This descriptive study examined the perceptions of career barriers and career support of preservice agriculture teachers and determined if gender differences existed. Data were collected from 215 preservice agriculture teachers using a survey instrument administered by teacher educators at 35 institutions across the nation. Results showed participants were primarily Caucasian, grew up in rural areas, and were considering agricultural education as a first career. Participants perceived the likelihood of career barriers to be low and their level of career support to be high. The issues most likely to become barriers were found to pertain to family responsibilities and relationships, desire to live in a certain area, and an unwillingness to move away. Participants perceived the most support from their teacher educators, agriculture teachers, and cooperating/mentor teachers. No statistical or practical differences were found between perceptions of career barriers and career support for female and male participants.