Secondary Agricultural Education Programs Research Articles

Aspiration Level of Undergraduates and Post Graduate Agriculture Students

The focus on career and career preparation has long been a major component of secondary agricultural education programs. Aspiration can be defined as hope or ambition of achieving something. The occupational choices for agricultural students are many, varied and chosen based. The study was carried out in college of Agriculture, Jabalpur, JNKVV with the total sample of 120, level of occupational aspiration of undergraduate and postgraduate students were determined. The socio personal traits of the Undergraduate(UG) and Postgraduate(PG) result found that majority of the students enrolled were male for undergraduate and postgraduate, had attended the medium of school as hindi for both UG and PG, nearly half of the respondents fathers were in government services for both UG and PG, both UG and PG graduates majority mothers were housewives, family size was small(55%) for UG and 50.00 per cent medium family size for PG Students, and academic performance, UG and PG students had secured 1st division. The result concluded that in socio personal traits of both the undergraduate and postgraduate students had medium level of occupational aspiration i.e 53.40 and 51.60 respectively.

In-Service Agricultural Mechanics Needs of Montana Mid-Career Agricultural Educators

Agricultural mechanics—a pillar of many secondary agricultural education programs—is a dynamic, constantly changing field, requiring educators to continually evolve their programs to maintain relevance. This study explored the in-service agricultural mechanics needs of Montana mid-career agricultural educators. We used mean weighted discrepancy scores and descriptive measures to analyze demographics and perceived levels of importance and competency to teach agricultural mechanics content areas. The areas of highest perceived importance of teaching were welding safety, mechanical safety, and construction and shop safety. The areas that educators felt least competent to teach were differential leveling, profile leveling, and cleaning motors. Mean weight discrepancy scores revealed the greatest discrepancies between importance and competence to teach in the areas of electrical safety, computer aided design, and differential leveling. Agricultural educator associations and industry experts should collaborate with advisory groups, local businesses, and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce to determine the relevance of low-ranking content areas and create professional development opportunities for educators in these areas.

Continuing Professional Education and Collaborations Between University Faculty and Agricultural Education Teachers

The call for agricultural education programs to integrate more rigorous scientific and technology- driven content has left many secondary agricultural education teachers unprepared (Baker, 2015). New content that addresses the changes in the agricultural industry has required secondary agricultural teachers to seek continuing professional education. This case study examined one secondary agricultural education program and how the teachers in that program have taken advantage of continuing professional education opportunities to change local program content. The study shows that through collaborations with the faculty at the university and the secondary agricultural education teachers, continuing professional education can drive the changes needed to design and develop a relevant agricultural education program. It is through collaborations that the participants in this study connected continuing professional education with curriculum development, to focused on student needs and the expectations for their success after leaving the secondary program. Finally, the rigorous local program’s content has emerged from the small group discussions and one on one experiences of the teachers in this program collaborating with faculty at the university. It is through these unique continuing professional education experiences that teachers built a network that keeps them abreast of changes in the industry and provides an avenue for their lifelong learning experiences.

State Wide Self-Assessment of General Program Standards for Agricultural Education

A quality program is the ultimate goal for many secondary agricultural education programs. To ensure quality agricultural education programs, standards were established to measure the extent agricultural education programs in Iowa were implementing standards. Utilizing Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, researchers incorporated the Iowa Council on Agricultural Education standards as an evaluation tool. A census study was conducted in Iowa with high school agricultural education teachers (N = 255) to better understand the extent that standards outlined by the Iowa Council on Agricultural Education were being met in agricultural education programs. In the general program standard area, improvement is needed in the areas of utilization of stakeholders, program planning, and administration communication. The FFA standard area only had one standard not being met or exceeded while Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) standard area had all standards indicated being met or exceeded.

Urban and Rural Latino Students’ Experiences in Agricultural Education: Toward Defining Rural Privilege

Agricultural Education programs continue to become more diverse and dynamic. However, diversity does not necessarily ensure equity or inclusion. As such, many programs strive to increase inclusive programming and ensure all students fully actualize the three-circle model of school based agricultural education. In some programs, students from rural and non-rural backgrounds coexist in a single setting. As part of a larger parallel mixed methods multiple case study investigating the experiences of Latino students in Agricultural Education, the data from this substudy found certain inequalities between the rural and non-rural students in three of the four cases. Three sub-themes emerged from the data: 1) Students from non-rural backgrounds may not possess the same understanding of agriculture and agricultural education as their urban counterparts; 2) Lack of privileged information may present a barrier to access, enrollment, and involvement in secondary agricultural education programs; and, 3) Students from non-rural backgrounds tend to report fewer opportunities and more barriers to fully actualizing the three-circle model. Thick, rich descriptions are provided of the participants’ perceptions of these inequalities. Furthermore, researchers offer a working definition of Rural Privilege along with suggestions for practice and further research.

Successful Secondary Agricultural Programs Outside the Classroom: A View of Champions

This study sought to identify traits and characteristics of secondary agricultural education programs contributing to success. A three round modified Delphi survey technique was utilized to frame this study. The researchers utilized purposive sampling to select members for the jury comprised of secondary agricultural instructors identified as high quality (n = 65). High quality programs were determined based on the results of various activities and competitions a program would participate in including CDE’s, LDE’s, Agriscience Fair Divisions, State Fair livestock shows, State Officer Elections, and National Chapter Awards. Data collected identified important factors associated with high performing SAE programs and that students should be actively involved with an SAE project. Additionally, important factors included that students should experience some kind of personal growth as they develop through a program and that students should be taught and prepared so they are able to take part in both program activities and eventually a career. The FFA program should be operated so that it is molding students into productive members of society. The FFA advisor should also be passionate and have a willingness and availability to work with members. Success does not only rely on instructors but is also dependent upon students.

Utilizing Secondary Agricultural Education Programs to Deliver Evidence-Based Grain Safety Training for Young and Beginning Workers

ABSTRACTPurdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program (PUASHP) has collaborated with secondary agricultural education programs, including FFA Chapters, for over 70 years to deliver and promote agricultural safety and health programming. With support from a U.S. Department of Labor Susan Harwood Program grant, PUASHP utilized a Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) process to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based curriculum for use with young and beginning workers, ages 16–20, exposed to hazards associated with grain storage and handling. The primary audience was students enrolled in secondary agricultural education programs. A review of the literature identified a gap in educational resources that specifically addresses this target population. The curriculum developed was based on fatality and injury incident data mined from Purdue’s Agricultural Confined Space Incident Database and input from a panel of experts. The process identified 27 learning outcomes and finalized a pool of test questions, supported by empirical evidence and confirmed by a panel of experts. An alignment process was then completed with the current national standards for secondary agricultural education programs. Seventy-two youth, ages 16–20, enrolled in secondary-school agricultural education programs, and a smaller group of post-secondary students under the age of 21 interested in working in the grain industry pilot tested the curriculum. Based on student and instructor feedback, the curriculum was refined and submitted to OSHA for approval as part of OSHA’s online training resources. The curriculum was delivered to 3,665 students, ages 16–20. A total of 346 pre- and post-tests were analyzed, and the results used to confirm content validity and assess knowledge gain. Findings led to additional modifications to curriculum content, affirmed knowledge gain, and confirmed appropriateness for use with secondary agricultural education programs. The curriculum has been promoted nationally and made available for free download from www.agconfinedspaces.org. Findings further confirmed the value of delivering safety programming through established programs such as secondary agricultural education programs and FFA Chapters serving youth.

An Exploration of Relationships between Teaching Practices in Secondary Agricultural Education Programs and Student Engagement

This study was designed to explore the relationship between teacher practices and levels of student engagement in secondary agricultural education programs. Most researchers have agreed that student engagement at the secondary level may be measured through three constructs: cognitive engagement, behavioral engagement, and emotional engagement. The intra-curricular components, namely the FFA organization and Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, make secondary agricultural education unique when compared to the foundational classes of math, science, and English. Respondents included a total of 152 agricultural education programs, which were randomly selected within 11 states to participate in the study. One class in each program was surveyed, which totaled 2,106 student respondents. Relationships were identified between specific teaching and advising practices performed by the secondary agricultural educator and their students’ level of engagement in classroom, FFA, and SAE activities. Each state is encouraged to replicate this study to determine student engagement levels in classroom, FFA and SAE activities, and then identify the causes and conditions leading to higher and lower levels of student engagement.

State Wide Self-Assessment of General Program Standards for Agricultural Education

A quality program is the ultimate goal for many secondary agricultural education programs. To ensure quality agricultural education programs, standards were established to measure the extent agricultural education programs in Iowa were implementing standards. Utilizing Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, researchers incorporated the Iowa Council on Agricultural Education standards as an evaluation tool. A census study was conducted in Iowa with high school agricultural education teachers (N = 255) to better understand the extent that standards outlined by the Iowa Council on Agricultural Education were being met in agricultural education programs. In the general program standard area, improvement is needed in the areas of utilization of stakeholders, program planning, and administration communication. The FFA standard area only had one standard not being met or exceeded while Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) standard area had all standards indicated being met or exceeded.

Utilization of Advisory Councils in Pennsylvania Secondary Agricultural Education Programs

Utilization of Advisory Councils in Pennsylvania Secondary Agricultural Education Programs

Does Agricultural Mechanics Laboratory Size Affect Agricultural Education Teachers' Job Satisfaction?

Secondary agricultural education teachers were surveyed to examine if a relationship existed between the physical attributes of agricultural mechanics laboratories and agricultural education teachers’ enjoyment of teaching agricultural mechanics. Teachers also indicated their competence to teach courses other than agricultural mechanics within the agricultural education curriculum, perceived importance of Iowa agricultural education curricula, and training an agricultural mechanics Career Development Event (CDE) team. Responses were collected from 103 Iowa agricultural education teachers. It was found that shop size and the age of the shop did not have a correlation between agricultural education teachers’ enjoyment of teaching agricultural mechanics, competence in other courses, importance of agricultural mechanics, or training a team to compete in the state CDE. Teachers’ enjoyment of teaching agricultural mechanics was positively correlated to the size of the budget for consumables and equipment for their agricultural mechanics laboratory. Researchers recommend that further research be conducted to identify factors which motivate agricultural education teachers who teach agricultural mechanics within secondary agricultural education programs

Benefits of Career Development Events as Perceived by School-Based, Agricultural Education Teachers

Agriculture is the nation’s largest employer with more than 24 million people working in some phase of the agricultural industry; however, the knowledge and skills needed in today’s agricultural industry are lacking. Assuring future generations are agriculturally literate and taught the significance of agriculture is crucial. Systematic delivery of the secondary agricultural education program has the potential to highlight mathematics and science through classroom and laboratory instruction, provide hands-on work experiences, and develop life skills that will help students discover their career paths. Through Career Development Events (CDEs), agricultural education programs have the potential to prepare students for more than 300 careers in the science, business, and technology of agriculture. However, school-based, agricultural education teachers and students may not understand fully the technical and nontechnical skills learned through CDEs. A Delphi approach was used in this study to identify benefits of CDEs, as perceived by school-based, agricultural education teachers in Oklahoma. Findings revealed teachers perceived CDEs supported the mission of career and technical education through students’ attainment of valuable career and life skills that are beneficial for employment in the agricultural industry; less agreement, however, existed about CDEs leading students to make career choices.

How a Serious Digital Game Affected Students’ Animal Science and Mathematical Competence in Agricultural Education

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the lecture and discussion teaching methods and digital game-based learning on student achievement in agriculture and mathematics regarding a unit on swine diseases in animal science courses offered through secondary agricultural education programs in Oklahoma. Three research questions guided the study, which utilized a quasi-experimental, between-groups design. No statistically significant differences (p >.05) were found between the counterfactual group and the treatment group regarding animal science competency and mathematics achievement. As such, the researcher failed to reject the null hypotheses aligned with the study’s research questions. However, this study demonstrated that teachers using a serious digital game in the context of animal science did not diminish their students’ achievement. As a result, it can be recommended that teachers should consider incorporating this teaching method into their existing pedagogical practices without fear of decreasing student learning and achievement. Another implication for practice is the importance of providing prolonged and sustained professional development opportunities for in-service teachers to learn how to use a digital game-based delivery method effectively to increase student achievement in agriculture and mathematics.

Level of Agricultural Education Advisory Council Implementation in Idaho Secondary Agricultural Education Programs

Advisory councils are community-specific and are major components of agricultural education programs. This descriptive study was conducted to further strengthen what is known about advisory councils and provide a basis for continued improvement in local programs. The specific purpose of the research study was to describe how Idaho agricultural education teachers perceived and used agricultural education advisory councils. Findings included that 90% (n=85) of Idaho agricultural education programs currently had an advisory council. Overall, respondents had positive perceptions of advisory councils, but felt that the opportunity exists forthe advisory council to have more influence on the program. The notion that the agriculture teacher is the leader of the program’s advisory council was also expressed. Future research is recommended to investigate the barriers to increasing the advisory council’s influence and ways to enhance the role of the advisory council in the program. In addition, professional development programs that share best practices on advisory councils should be developed to assist teachers in increasing the effectiveness of their local program advisory councils.

Secondary Agricultural Education Program and Human Influences on Career Decision Self-Efficacy

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) and components of the secondary agricultural education program. Additionally, the authors sought to describe secondary students’ CDSE and career decision influences. This study’s design was descriptive and relational and incorporated high school junior and senior student responses (n = 114) to surveys. Taylor and Betz’ (1983) Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale, Short Form (CDSE-SF) was incorporated in addition to instruments developed solely for this study. This study’s findings revealed secondary agricultural education students were mostly confident in their career decisiveness across all five constructs of the CDSE-SF. Participation in Career Development Events (CDEs) revealed low correlations with four constructs in the CDSESF. Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) did not highly influence this group of participants’ career decisions. The authors also discuss the perceived influence of identified persons and other components of the secondary agricultural education program based on student responses. Recommendations are made to teachers and parents to improve secondary students’ career decision-making.

A Case Study Exploring the Perceived and Actual Person-Environment Fit of Teacher Aspirants in Agricultural Education

This study assessed the factors that led students who did not participate in secondary agricultural education programs to the agricultural education teaching major. Findings indicated that these participants were motivated to pursue an agricultural education degree because of their passion for agriculture and youth, and affinity for people and the job. Parents and friends were their biggest influences in pursuing a degree in agricultural education. Their greatest perceived strengths were content knowledge in agriculture, leadership skills, and ability to persevere; their greatest perceived limitation was lack of experience in a secondary agricultural education program. Unfortunately, none of the students secured employment as agriculture teachers. Because these findings are more subjective and personal (P) in nature, future research should investigate more objective measures of the demands from teachers in the workforce (i.e., environment-E).

Perceptions of Florida Secondary School Principals toward Agricultural Education

In American public schools, the bulk of financial decisions have been left up to local boards of education, local school superintendents, and individual school principals. Traditionally, principals have been considered the utmost leader in their schools. Agricultural education has been linked to student achievement in a variety of ways. The National Council for Agricultural Education’s Strategic Plan for Agricultural Education included a “call to increase the number of quality agricultural education programs” around the nation. Currently, there are no data on how Florida decision makers perceive agricultural education programs and how their perceptions align with the values of principals. Additionally, the relative lack of growth in FFA Chapters around the country and in Florida is concerning. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of secondary agricultural education programs held by Florida secondary school principals. The results of this study found that Florida secondary school principals have positive perceptions of agricultural education programs. Additionally, the presence of a local secondary agricultural education program influences the perceptions of Florida secondary school principals. Demographics had many influences on the perceptions of Florida secondary school principals. A key finding was the influence of student achievement on funding decisions of principals.

Assessing the Effect of Using a Science–Enhanced Curriculum to Improve Agriculture Students’ Science Scores: A Causal Comparative Study

The academic skills of today’s teenagers are diminishing, and are a cause for concern. One of the academic areas in need of improvement is science. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to determine the effect that a science–enhanced, curriculum would have on students’ achievement in science. The population for this study consisted of students in secondary agricultural education programs whose instructors held a science credential in Oklahoma during the 2009–2010 school year and were selected by state staff in the Agricultural Education Division of the Oklahoma Career and Technology Education Department to teach the science–enhanced, curriculum. In addition, 10 equally credentialed instructors formed a purposeful comparison group and were selected according to specific variables (e.g., similarity of students’ SES status) for equivalency purposes. The findings of this study revealed that a statistically significant difference in students’ science achievement did not exist as a result of the treatment. However, small practical differences were detected between the groups, as student performance in the treatment group was more than two and one–half points higher than the means of students’ performance scores in the comparison group. Recommendations point to the need for replication of the study over an entire school year.

The Benefits and Barriers Toward Diversity Inclusion Regarding Agricultural Science Teachers in Texas Secondary Agricultural Education Programs

This study analyzed Texas secondary agricultural education teachers’ (n = 232) attitudes toward diversity inclusion in Texas secondary agricultural education programs. Using a web–based questionnaire, the researcher employed a nonproportional stratified random sampling technique. Researchers used descriptive statistics to report demographic and personal characteristics and mean scores to assess teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of diversity inclusion, and perceptions of the barriers of diversity inclusion. Teachers agreed that: “educators, parents, and policymakers must develop strategies to address the different learning styles of all students;” “teachers should become familiar with students of color represented in their classrooms;” and “agricultural educators should increase recruitment efforts to promote diversity inclusion in secondary agricultural education programs.”

Preparing Future Secondary Agricultural Education Teachers To Work With Students With Learning Disabilities: Reports from Teacher Educators

Secondary agricultural education programs are enrolling increasing numbers of students with various disabilities. One consequence is that pre–service teachers are expressing a need for additional preparation to work with such students. This study was conducted to examine the preparation that pre– service teachers receive to work with students with learning disabilities in secondary agricultural education programs. The target population for the study was agricultural teacher educators who plan and in some situations, deliver such preparation. An instrument was mailed to a purposive sample of 84 teacher educators in the fall of 2006. As a result, 63 were returned for a 75% response rate. The respondents reported the cooperative pairs/groups teaching technique and the extra/extended time accommodation as most covered in their teacher education programs. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001was the federal legislation pre–service teachers felt was most covered in their program to prepare them to implement in the secondary setting. A majority (73%) of the respondents indicated that their pre– service teachers must complete at least one special education course. It is recommended that when a special education course is not offered by another department, agricultural teacher education programs should offer a course within the department.