Vol. 62 No. 01 (2012)

The manuscripts in Volume 62, Issue 1 (2012) of the Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research (JSAER) address critical workforce and retention challenges in agricultural education, exploring teacher supply, stress, compensation, and the design of effective study abroad programming.

Teacher Supply, Retention, and Workforce Demographics

• Teacher Supply and Programmatic Demand in Georgia: A quantitative survey of 293 Georgia agricultural teachers finds that approximately 74% of the workforce is male, nearly 29% are between ages 22 and 30, and roughly 34% have five or fewer years of teaching experience, signaling a profession with a relatively young and potentially vulnerable workforce and recommending further research on retention strategies and pathways to advanced degrees.
• Job Stressors Among Beginning Agriculture Teachers by Gender: A quantitative study comparing male and female beginning agriculture teachers finds that while stress levels are broadly similar across most job responsibility constructs, female teachers report significantly higher stress related to FFA responsibilities, class load demands, and overburdened workloads, recommending that teacher preparation and induction programs provide targeted training in time management and stress management strategies for female educators in particular.
• Financial Impact of Extended Contracts in Kentucky: A quantitative financial projection study examines the lifetime earnings and retirement benefit implications of Kentucky's statutory requirement that agricultural educators serve on 12-month contracts, finding that the differential lifetime financial benefit compared to a standard 9-month contract is approximately $1.3 million for male educators and $1.5 million for females, while cautioning that when retirement benefits are evaluated on a discounted present value basis the advantage may be less significant than it appears on its face.

International and Study Abroad Programming

• Formative Evaluation in Agricultural Study Abroad Courses: A mixed-methods study at the University of Florida demonstrates the value of formative evaluation in improving a collaborative agricultural study abroad course, finding that ongoing evaluation enabled teams to make real-time improvements to recruitment plans, communication, educational objectives, and experiential learning integration, recommending that all study abroad course development teams adopt formative evaluation processes to increase the likelihood of reaching their intended student outcomes.