Category

Vol. 65

Professional Development Needs of Tennessee School-Based Agricultural Education Teachers

Danielle E. Sanok, Christopher T. Stripling, Carrie A. Stephens, John C. Ricketts, Christopher M. Estepp, & Nathan W. Conner
School-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers feel the skills and knowledge they bring into the classroom may be inadequate for providing their students with the tools needed to face the changing world. The purpose of this study was to explore the professional development needs of Tennessee school-based agricultural education teachers. In addition, this study sought to determine if differences existed in the professional development needs of Tennessee school-based agricultural education teachers based on selected demographic variables. The sample for this descriptive study was 127 SBAE teachers in Tennessee. The researchers modified an existing survey instrument and used descriptive statistics to describe the demographic data and professional development delivery preferences. To describe the professional…

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How FFA Camp Affects Youths’ Attitudes for Learning about Leadership

Nicholas R. Brown, Robert Terry, Jr., & J. Shane Robinson
In the 1970s, the number of FFA camps expanded quickly across the country with the goal of increasing leadership capacities of FFA members. Although FFA camps were designed, originally, as a fun medium to increase leadership skills, current data suggests that camps also can improve students’ content knowledge. The two major domains that impact the outcome of learning are cognitive and affective. Although recent research has been conducted regarding cognitive achievement at FFA camps, scholars have called for additional research on youth development related to the affective domain. The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to measure the relationship between the cognitive…

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Western Region Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Rural and Urban Agriscience Programs

Corey Clem, Rhea Leonard, Cindy Akers, Steven Fraze, & Scott Burris
Agricultural Education is continually changing and its role in the urban school is becoming more important. Agriscience teachers must be willing to teach within urban programs. This study was performed in order to identify characteristics in recruiting agriscience teachers in urban programs. Data collection took place during the months of August and September 2010 using a researcher designed questionnaire. Seventy Western Region student teachers, completing their programs in the AAAE Western Region, completed the questionnaire. Findings of this study concluded participants’ value location as an important factor when selecting their teaching position. The majority of participants experienced an agriscience program in a rural program and agreed they are receiving the correct…

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Migrants, Farming, and Immigration: Beginning a Dialogue in Agricultural Education

Scott A. Beck & Yasar Bodur
Based upon quantitative survey data from 359 students, aged thirty or younger, at a large, state university that serves a relatively balanced rural / urban population, this manuscript outlines what Southern young people, particularly young educators, think they know and what they believe regarding the workers who are essential to their daily diet of fruits and vegetables: America’s immigrant and migrant farm workers. The participants’ attitudes are compared and contrasted with their relevant life experiences and backgrounds such as: gender, race / ethnicity, political affiliation, and agricultural experience. Using a factor analyses, significant clusters of semantically and statistically valid background experience…

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Socioscientific Issues-based Instruction: An Investigation of Agriscience Students’ Argumentation Skills based on Student Variables

Jarred D. Wyatt, Catherine W. Shoulders, & Brian E. Myers
Many researchers in science education have recorded high school student achievement in areas of scientific literacy stemming from socioscientific issues (SSI)-based instruction. The purpose of this study was to describe agriscience students’ argumentation skills following a six-week SSI- based instructional unit according to students’ grade level, socioeconomic status, and experiences in agricultural education. Results indicated students improved their argumentation quality from pretest to posttest, but students’ changes in the number of arguments they offered varied by grade level, socioeconomic status, number of completed agriculture classes, and FFA involvement.

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