Agricultural Education Students Research Articles

Influence Of Agricultural Education Students Home Assignments Scores On Their Performance In Class Tests

The study investigated the influence of home assignment scores on class test scores of agricultural education students. Forty semi-final year students of Agricultural Education department in the Federal College of Education (Technical) Omoku Rivers State, Nigeria made up the study sample. Data analysis was by the use of mean, and correlation. Four courses offered in the first semester were used and their raw scores in homework /assignments and class tests made up the data. Performance of students was relatively high in homework. However, there was no significant relationship in performance in homework and class test, since the correlation was almost negligible. It was recommended that home assignments alone should not be used to assess students performance because it may be exaggerated. Keywords: agricultural education students scores, home assignments, class testsJournal of Technology and Education in Nigeria Vol. 10 (1) 2005: pp. 55-59

Relationship Between Language and Communication Skills and Students\' Performance in Vocational Courses: A Case Study of F.C.E. Okene.

This study sought to find out the influence of language and communication skills on students\' performance in vocational courses. The study used the cumulative mean scores of two sets of final year students over tine three-year perrod of their N.C.E course in Agricultural Education, Business Education, and Fine and Applied Art and their corresponding cumulative scores in language and communication courses. The degree of relationship was determined using Pearson Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation. Results obtained show that for the two sets of Agricultural Education students, there was a highly significant positive linear correlation (r; 0.56, 0.63), while for Business Education students there was a highly significant positive linear correlation for one set, (r; 0.83). For the other a not significant positive correlation (r, 0.12) was obtained. For the two sets of Fine and Applied Art students there were not significant linear correlation (r; 0.24, 0.23) at 0.01 level of significance. These results show that language and communication skills positively affect students\' academic achievement in Agricultural Education. The same is true for one set of Business students but it was no so for the other. The results also show that language and communication skills have no positive influence on the performance of the two sets of Fine and Applied Art students These mixed results explain the argument that is often made about the level of understanding of language and communication skills that vocational students should possess. The Nigerian Journal Of Guidance And Counselling Vol. 7 (1) 2000: pp. 196-205

PREPARATION OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION STUDENTS TO WORK WITH DIVERSE POPULATIONS

This study investigated how agricultural education programs prepare teacher education students for work in diverse situations. It assessed the extent to which agricultural education programs are infusing diversity, multiculturalism, and pluralism into their curriculum as courses, field experiences, and in-service for current teachers. This census study included all universities with an agricultural education program as identified in the 2005 Directory of Agricultural Education on the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) website. The instrument was web based and was accessed by 57 program leaders. The program leaders indicated their agricultural education programs provided students with instruction on diversity through required courses, optional courses, or infusion of these topics into agricultural education courses. Results showed that students are involved in early field experiences and student teaching in settings where agricultural education undergraduates interact with people different from themselves. Coursework on diversity and in-service offerings for current teachers showed more mixed results.

State FFA Officers' Confidence And Trustworthiness Of Biotechnology Information Sources

Are state FFA officers' awareness levels of agricultural topics reported in mass media superior to those who do not serve in leadership roles? The purpose of this study was to determine elected state FFA officers' awareness of biotechnology, and their confidence and trust of biotechnology information sources. Descriptive survey methods were used to obtain data from all elected state FFA officers for the 2004-2005 academic year. More than 52% (N = 177) of the accessible population responded, representing 44 states andPuerto Rico. Respondents were most aware of how agricultural biotechnology practices will affect their food, followed by its effects on environment and health. State FFA officers' awareness levels of agricultural biotechnology were superior to previously studied college of agriculture students. Respondents had somewhat high confidence in biotechnology statements made by seven of nine sources, with university scientists/researchers receiving the greatest amount of confidence. Significant, moderate positive relationships existed between respondents' confidence and trustworthiness of biotechnology statements made by cooperative extension specialists, food companies, government agencies, and farm/ranch groups. Additional studies are needed to determine the "definitive differences" in communication skill sets between state FFA officers and all other agricultural education students in high school and college.

Technology Enhanced Agricultural Education Learning Environments: An Assessment Of Student Perceptions

The purpose of this descriptive research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Web-enhanced agricultural education pedagogy as perceived by students in a collegiate agricultural education program.Overall, respondents agreed there were many benefits to Web-enhanced courses and perceived all Web site components under study to be very useful.It was recommended that Web-enhanced instruction be increasingly utilized in agricultural education settings in order to encourage learning, increase problem-solving skills, and increase technological literacy.

The Psychometric Properties Of The Agricultural Hazardous Occupations Order Certification Training Program Written Examinations

The written certification exam that accompanies the Gearing Up for Safety-Agricultural Production Safety Training for Youth curriculum was designed to partially meet the testing requirements of the Agricultural Hazardous Occupations Order (AgHOs) Certification Training Program. This curriculum and accompanying assessment tools are available for national implementation. Psychometric properties of the exam were examined based on a sample of high-school agricultural education students, who were consistent with the population of youth for which the AgHOs were designed to protect from certain workplace hazards. The analyses included evaluation of score reliability (i.e., internal consistency) and the theoretical structure of the exam via confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability estimates were satisfactory. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the preferred theoretical model had adequate fit. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Influence Of The Relationship Between The Student Teacher And Cooperating Teacher On Student Teacher'S Decision To Enter Teaching

The purpose of the study was to determine if student teachers' perceptions of the student teacher/cooperating teacher relationship were predictive of their decisions to enter the teaching profession. The target population of this study consisted of preservice agricultural education students atTexasA&MUniversity. The accessible sample consisted of student teachers in agricultural education atTexasA&MUniversity in fall 2004, a group of 33 student teachers. Multiple regression was used to build a model that explained the greatest amount of variability in the student teachers' decision to enter teaching, based on the student teachers' perceptions of the cooperating teacher and other suspected predictor variables. The typical student teacher in agricultural education was a 22 year old white female completing an undergraduate degree. The majority of student teachers had no full-time agricultural employment experience. The majority of student teachers had at least four semesters (two years) of high school agricultural science courses. It was concluded that the student teaching/cooperating teacher relationship is not predictive of decision to teach. However, semesters of high school agricultural sciences courses completed was predictive of one's decision to teach. The best model explained 18.3% of the variance.

Changes In Student Teacher Perceptions Of The Student Teacher-Cooperating Teacher Relationship Throughout The Student Teaching Semester

The purpose of the study was to explore student teacher perceptions of the student teacher/ cooperating teacher relationship throughout the student teaching experience. The target population of this study consisted of preservice agricultural education students atTexasA&MUniversity. The accessible sample consisted of student teachers in agricultural education in fall 2004, a group of 33 student teachers. Data were collected via paper instruments at four points during the student teaching semester: 1) the first day of the block; 2) the last day of the block; 3) the midpoint of the 11-week student teaching experience; and 4) the end of the 11-week student teaching experience. Two measures were examined: 1) the student teachers' perceptions of the importance of the relationship and 2) the student teachers' perceptions about the current level of relationship exhibited by their cooperating teachers. The typical student teacher in this study would be a 22 year old white female completing an undergraduate degree. The student teachers' perceptions of the importance of the relationship between student teacher/cooperating teacher did not change. However, the student teachers' perceptions of their cooperating teacher's current level decreased during the student teaching experience.

Factors Influencing Postsecondary Education Enrollment Behaviors of Urban Agricultural Education Students

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influenced the postsecondary education enrollment behaviors of students who graduated from an urban agricultural education program. Students indicated that parents and/or guardians had the most influence on their decisions to enroll in a postsecondary education program of agriculture. However, they indicated that their mothers or female guardians had slightly more influence than their fathers or male guardians. Students also reported an interest in agriculture, personal factors, and job opportunities as the events and experiences that most influenced their decisions to enroll. Students who did not choose to enroll cited a lack of interest and personal factors as the primary reasons. Discriminant analysis revealed that high school grade point average and mother’s or female guardian’s level of influence were the most important factors for predicting if students would or would not enroll in a postsecondary education program of agriculture.

IMPACT OF AN URBAN SERVICE LEARNING EXPERIENCE ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

As society becomes more diverse, it is critical that educators provide multiple levels and types of experiences for our students to engage and interact in a multicultural environment. Due to institutional, geographic, and/or departmental demographics, many collegiate students can complete their baccalaureate degree program with limited interaction with individuals from different cultures or ethnic groups. This study utilized a service learning activity as a bridge between a minority-based collegiate organization and an adolescent leadership development class. Participants provided input and reflection on their participation in this event. Four themes: fear of the unknown, moving out of your comfort zone, group activity, and personal impact, emerged from this study that will be used to shape and direct future multicultural service learning activities. Findings support the use of service learning as a positive vehicle to expose students to individuals from different cultures and as a model for future multicultural learning activities with youth based organizations.

IDENTIFYING CONTENT FOR AN OPEN COURSEWARE PRE-SERVICE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAM PLANNING COURSE

This study focused on the development of a pre-service agricultural education “Program Planning” course that could be utilized nationally for preparing high school agricultural science and business teachers. The researchers created a course that would meet the needs of agricultural education students, teachers, and faculty across the United States in the form of open courseware. Using the Tyler Rationale, the subjects of the study were teachers (learners), teacher educators (subject specialists), and 22 university program planning course syllabi collected from agricultural education teacher preparation programs. A collective list of content items was derived from the course syllabi. Outstanding high school agricultural education teachers and university teacher educators were asked to rate the importance of each item. Only those items rated as important by both groups were incorporated into a new curriculum framework for the course. Overall, 59 content items were considered important by both groups and recommended for inclusion in the program planning course. The 59 items were grouped into twelve categories. The categories included Introduction to Program Planning, Program Goals, Program Evaluation, Program Needs Assessment, Professionalism, Curriculum Planning, Program Budgeting/Funding, Advisory Committees, Recruiting and Marketing, Summer Programs, Legal and Safety Issues, and Total Agricultural Education Program.

Influence of students in other programmes on the self-esteem of agricultural education students in federal college of education (technical), Omoku, Rivers State

This paper focused on the influence of students in other programme on the self-esteem of agricultural education students in Federal College of Education(Technical), Omoku, Rivers State. The population of the study consisted of all students of the department of Agricultural Education in the 2001/2002 sessions. Thirty (30) students were randomly selected from each level of NCE I, II, and III to give ninety (90) respondents for this study and a 25-item questionnaire administered to them. Collected data was analyzed using mean and one-way classification ANOVA. The findings showed, inter alia, that Agricultural students possess positive self-esteem against all odds. Conclusion was drawn based on this. Nigerian Journal of Technology and Education in Nigeria Vol. 8(2) 2003: 96-103

A Description Of The Characteristics Attributed To Students' Decisions To Teach Agriscience

A major issue facing agricultural education is recruiting qualified young teachers to theprofession. Attempts have been made to recruit new teachers by offering scholarship incentives, highlighting teachers at the National FFA Convention, and producing recruitment brochures. This Delphi study attempts to answer questions about how current agriscience teachers encourage their students to pursue careers in teaching. Respondents were teachers (n=11), stratified across six different southern states, who prolifically produced agricultural education students and future teachers. Findings indicated that teachers who serve as role models, build quality programs, and refrain from disparaging remarks and attitudes about the profession encourage students. Students may be enticed to teach if teachers demonstrate high standards, lead in the school and community, and take an interest in all aspects of a student's life. The research produced five constructs for recruitment of future teachers: encouragement, modeling, career counseling and awareness, program quality, and teacher effectiveness. The most influential constructs were determined to be encouragement and program quality. Career awareness and counseling was the least influential construct.

Factors Influencing Career Choice Of Urban Agricultural Education Students

The purpose of the study was to identify factors influencing the career choice behaviors of students who graduated from an urban agricultural education program. A secondary purpose was to identify factors that discriminated between individuals who choose careers in agriculture and those who do not. Former students in the study indicated their parents and friends as the individuals most influencing their choice of a career. The events and experiences reported by former students who chose a career in agriculture focused around several themes which included career opportunities, high school educational experiences, and work experiences. Of the former students who did not choose a career in agriculture, events and experiences cited included having other career interests, a lack of interest in agriculture, and a lack of career opportunities. A discriminant analysis procedure was used to identify factors that discriminated between individuals who chose careers in agriculture and those who did not. Findings indicated that a discriminant model consisting of selected factors could not discriminate between former students who chose or did not choose a career in agriculture after they completed a secondary agricultural program.

INQUIRY-BASED INSTRUCTION IN SECONDARY AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION: PROBLEM-SOLVING – AN OLD FRIEND REVISITED

In the quest for more effective teaching and learning methods, one particular approach has surfaced as a “method of choice” for science educators: inquiry-based learning. A careful examination of this method suggests that it is very similar to the problem-based learning approach used by many agricultural educators. This study sought to synthesize research reported by earlier investigators—science educators and agricultural educators—who examined inquiry-based learning and who researched the problem-solving approach. It was also designed to examine similarities between the two approaches and to describe their level of “pedagogical congruence.” It was concluded that significant agreement exists between what some eminent scholars have said is the recommended pedagogy for improving student achievement and the teaching and learning exercised in many agricultural education classrooms. Future research should attempt to measure the science achievement of agricultural education students and teachers’ use of the problem-solving approach. If significant positive associations are established, then professional development and learning resources supporting use of the problem-solving approach should be developed and delivered. In addition, investigations should be carried out to better understand how agriculture teachers operationalize the problem-solving approach.

AN ASSESSMENT OF FOOD AND FIBER SYSTEMS KNOWLEDGE IN SELECTED OKLAHOMA HIGH SCHOOLS

In 1988, the National Research Council recognized agricultural literacy as a need for every K-12 student. After more than 13 years of agricultural literacy efforts, this criterion group ex-post facto study sought to assess the agricultural literacy of selected program completers (high school seniors) in Oklahoma. An instrument based on the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy (FFSL) Framework was developed to assess the agricultural literacy of students in grades 9-12. Six schools, two in each of three locations (urban, suburban, and rural) were selected for inclusion in the study. Comparisons were made between general education students and agricultural education students, between the three types of schools according to overall mean scores and between the five agricultural themes of the FFSL Framework. Agricultural education students and general education students did not differ in their overall mean agricultural knowledge scores. Students in rural schools, however, obtained lower overall mean agricultural knowledge scores than did students in urban and suburban schools, with rural schools scoring lowest in three of the five thematic areas of agriculture. Given the low agricultural knowledge scores of students overall, it was determined that the program completers who participated in the study were not agriculturally literate.

ENGAGING STUDENTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION MODEL: FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL FFA ORGANIZATION

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of engagement of agricultural education students in the FFA, their agricultural education courses, their high school courses, and agriculture. This descriptive study using self-administered mailed questionnaires had a 52% useable response rate from FFA members and a 63% useable response rate from nonmembers. Members of the National FFA Organization more than non-members had a higher percentage that were current or former 4-H members, a higher percentage that had parents or siblings who were in agricultural education or 4-H, and a higher percentage self-reported that they lived on a farm. A higher percentage of FFA members than non-members reported that they had an SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience). Members of the National FFA Organization more than non-members believed that their agriculture classes were preparing them for the future, were challenging, interesting, exciting, and allowed for open discussion. Almost one-third of the FFA members reported that they had not received any award in FFA. Two-fifths had never participated in a CDE (Career Development Event), one-half had never participated in a leadership event, and two-thirds had never completed a proficiency award application. One-third did not have an SAE at the time of the survey.

河路由佳・淵野雄二郎・野本京子著『戦時中体制化の農業教育と中国人留学生 -1935～1944年の東京高等農林学校-』

河路由佳・淵野雄二郎・野本京子著『戦時中体制化の農業教育と中国人留学生 -1935～1944年の東京高等農林学校-』

Clinical Experiences For Agricultural Teacher Education Programs In North Carolina, South Carolina, & Virginia

The purpose of this study was to build a task list for the clinical experience program for the agricultural teacher education programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The objectives were to: (1) compile a list of clinical experiences, both early field and student teaching, that currently are provided in the clinical experiences for students of agricultural education in three selected teacher education programs, and (2) determine which tasks should be included for both the early field and student teaching experiences. A modified Delphi technique was used to collect data via three questionnaires. Data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviations of tasks rated on a five point Likert-type scale. Those tasks that the panelists rated with a standard deviation of less than or equal to one were considered to have met consensus, as suggested by Shinn (1998). The population for this study consisted of agriculture teachers, secondary school administrators, agricultural education field staff, and agricultural education teacher educators from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Thirty-four Delphi panel members were purposively selected from the population. Thirty-one panel members responded to Round I, 33 panel members responded to Round II, and 29 responded to Round III yielding an overall response rate of 92%. Rounds I, II, and III resulted in 102 tasks for early field and student teaching experiences that met consensus. Based on the findings, the researcher developed a task list for early field experiences and student teaching experiences to be considered for use by the agricultural education programs in the three cooperating states.

Alternative versus Conventional Attitudes in Higher Agricultural Education

ABSTRACT From radical positions it is argued that it will take paradigmatic transformations to develop a sustainable agriculture and that values and attitudes have to be changed. To find out if teachers and students in higher agricultural education are motivated for radical changes, a survey based on the Alternative-Conventional Agriculture Paradigm Scale (ACAP-scale) was conducted. The ACAP-scale shows how people relate to the alternative and conventional agricultural paradigm and it shows their overall understanding of how agriculture works and relates to the physical and social environment. This study showed that the ACAP-scale is a suitable method for quantitative assessment of attitudes to agriculture in a broader context. Among students and faculty members at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark there exists significant differences in paradigmatic positions. Students' course choices are, to some extent, influenced by their paradigmatic position, some courses enrol followers of either the alternative or the conventional agricultural paradigm, and females and older students hold more alternative views than males and younger students. It is concluded that the wide range of values and attitudes among students and teachers calls for new teaching methods, where values and attitudes are integrated. It cannot be taken for granted that teachers and students share the radical visions of sustainability as sometimes presupposed of bodies working for sustainable development.