Vol. 59 No. 01 (2009)

The manuscripts in Volume 59, Issue 1 (2009) of the Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research (JSAER) address critical issues in teacher preparation effectiveness, FFA career development event participation, workforce readiness, Extension service quality, and diversity and equity in American agriculture.

Teacher Preparation and Beginning Teacher Effectiveness

• Effectiveness of Teacher Education as Perceived by Beginning Teachers: A quantitative study of beginning agriculture teachers in a Southern state finds that those with fewer than three years of experience generally perceived their preservice programs as adequately preparing them to teach, that teacher self-confidence is positively related to perceived classroom effectiveness, and that no significant differences exist between traditionally and alternatively prepared teachers, recommending continued efforts to ensure teacher preparation programs build both content competence and pedagogical confidence.
• Learning Style and Job Satisfaction of Agricultural Education Graduates: A quantitative study using the Group Embedded Figures Test finds that the majority of agricultural education graduates at the University of Missouri are field-independent learners, but that learning style is not a practical predictor of employment decisions, salary, advising satisfaction, program quality perceptions, or overall job satisfaction, suggesting that universities need to prepare graduates broadly for diverse career pathways regardless of learning style.

FFA Career Development Events

• Student Participation in National FFA Career Development Events: A large-scale survey of 2,145 FFA members and 206 advisors finds that students participate in national CDEs primarily because the events relate to their career choices, while teachers believe competition is the primary motivator — a notable disconnect — with most training occurring after school hours, recommending that CDE programming be more explicitly aligned with students' career interests and that the gap between teacher and student perceptions of participation motivation be addressed.
• Recruitment and Training Practices in the National FFA Livestock CDE: A quantitative study of teams participating in the 2005 National FFA Livestock Career Development Event finds that competitiveness, coachability, and consistency are the recruitment factors most correlated with team success, while working out with college teams, attending judging camps, and practice contests are the most effective training practices, providing beginning and preservice teachers with an evidence-based foundation for building competitive CDE programs.

Workforce Readiness and Graduate Employability

• Employability Skills as Perceived by Employers of Land-Grant Graduates: A quantitative study of employers of land-grant college agricultural graduates finds that interpersonal, communication, technological, and technical skills are all perceived as important for entry-level positions, recommending that land-grant universities examine their curricula to ensure these transferable competencies are explicitly developed and assessed.

Extension Education and Service Quality

• Agent-Client Homophily and Extension Service Satisfaction: A quantitative study merging survey data from 1,466 Florida Extension clients and 157 agents finds that when clients and agents differ in race or education level, client satisfaction with Extension services decreases significantly, recommending strategies to increase minority agent recruitment and to build agent competencies for working effectively with diverse clientele.
• Internship Effects on Preservice Extension Educators and Mentors: A quantitative study using a semantic differential scale finds that Extension interns shifted from a contemporary toward a more traditional view of the Cooperative Extension Service over the course of their internship, while mentors moved from a strongly traditional to a more neutral view, suggesting that the internship experience reshapes the professional perspectives of both parties and warrants further study.

Diversity and Equity in Agriculture

• African American Agriculturists and Their Perceived Future: A qualitative case study examines the historic and ongoing challenges facing African American farmers, finding deep-seated distrust of USDA programs rooted in documented discriminatory practices, and noting that Black farmers are losing land at three times the rate of all farmers nationally, recommending that agricultural organizations and government agencies work to restore trust and create equitable access to loans, grants, and support programs.
• Student Perceptions of Mexican Agricultural Practices: A qualitative study of Texas Tech graduate students who completed a six-day international experience in Chihuahua, Mexico finds that the experience revealed significant language barriers, limited funding for international study, and insufficient prior exposure to international agricultural practices, recommending increased scholarship opportunities and structured international experiences to build global agricultural competence among future educators.