Vol. 56 No. 01 (2006)

The manuscripts in Volume 56, Issue 1 (2006) of the Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research (JSAER) address a broad range of issues central to the field, including instructional quality and student learning, teacher preparation and hiring, information technology in agriculture, agricultural literacy, and leadership development across youth and professional organizations.

Instructional Methods and Student Learning

• Experiential Learning in Secondary Agricultural Education Classrooms: A qualitative study of four agricultural education teachers finds that while teachers lack formal knowledge of Kolb's Experiential Learning Model, they naturally implement phases of it in their instruction, perceiving their role as facilitators and recognizing benefits including higher student retention, active engagement, and critical thinking, while also identifying class size, time, and student maturity as key challenges.
• Laboratory Instruction in Secondary Agriscience Classrooms: A qualitative study of four agriculture teachers finds that laboratory activities are implemented in diverse ways, with teachers recognizing benefits such as increased student motivation, cooperation, and subject matter retention, while identifying funding shortfalls, large enrollments, and preparation time as persistent barriers to quality lab instruction.
• Critical Thinking Ability of Secondary Agriculture Students: A quantitative study of 105 secondary agriculture students finds that academic achievement level is the strongest predictor of critical thinking ability, accounting for 18% of the variance in Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal scores, with upper classmen outperforming lower classmen and no significant gender differences detected.

Teacher Preparation, Hiring, and Inservice

• Important Elements of the Student Teaching Experience: A quantitative comparison of cooperating teachers and student teachers in Oklahoma and North Dakota finds that both groups rate 33 of 34 student teaching elements as important and agree that the cooperating teacher–student teacher relationship is the most critical core area, recommending that teacher educators provide professional development for new cooperating teachers focused on the mentoring relationship.
• Gender Differences in Student Teacher–Cooperating Teacher Interactions: A quantitative study at the University of Missouri and University of Illinois finds differences in the psychosocial support provided by cooperating teachers based on student teacher gender, recommending that teacher educators monitor these relationships and intervene when necessary to ensure equitable and successful student teaching experiences.
• Factors Influencing Administrator Hiring Practices: A quantitative study of Oklahoma school administrators finds that enthusiasm for teaching and community relations skills are the most important factors in hiring agricultural education teachers, while production agriculture experience, college activities, and GPA rank lowest, challenging the assumption that a shortage of qualified teachers exists and recommending that teacher preparation programs emphasize professional dispositions.
• In-Service Delivery Method Preferences of Georgia Agriculture Teachers: A descriptive survey of 212 Georgia agriculture teachers finds that summer conference training sessions, one-week summer short courses, mentoring programs with experienced teachers, and short seminars are the most preferred in-service delivery formats, with years of teaching experience having greater influence on preferences than gender, community type, or degree level.
• Female Agricultural Educators in Georgia: A descriptive survey of 70 female Georgia agricultural educators finds that they are generally satisfied with their careers and feel accepted by students, parents, and administrators, working an average of 43 professional hours and 23 additional personal hours per week, recommending that the results be used for targeted recruitment efforts and the development of a more formal mentoring network for women in the profession.

Agricultural Literacy and Curriculum Content

• Agricultural Literacy of Illinois Twelfth Grade Students: An ex post facto study comparing urban/suburban and rural twelfth grade students in five Illinois high schools finds that, unlike a prior Oklahoma study, rural students scored higher than urban/suburban students in agricultural knowledge, and that agricultural education students outscored general education students across all five Food and Fiber Systems Literacy Framework themes, though overall scores remained low, indicating limited agricultural literacy among program completers.
• References to Agriculture in a Middle Grade Science Textbook: A content analysis of a Glencoe middle grade science textbook finds 265 references to agriculture averaging once every three pages, with plants, agricultural product processing, and environmental impacts as the most common topics, concluding the textbook is generally unbiased in its agricultural portrayal but that science literacy opportunities tied to agriculture remain underutilized.

Information Technology and STEM Education

• Student Attitudes Toward Information Technology — Longitudinal Trend Study: A three-year longitudinal study of Mississippi agricultural science and biology/business students finds that students consistently hold favorable attitudes toward information technology, though more recent cohorts show growing perception that IT careers are boring, while agreement that females should pursue IT careers increased, recommending that AEST teachers receive adequate professional development in technology and that programs create IT career awareness activities.
• Sources and Influences on High School Students' IT Career Knowledge: A companion longitudinal study finds that parents/guardians, the internet, other family members, teachers, and work experience are the most important sources for learning about IT careers, and that parents, teachers, and family members are the most influential people in students' technology use, underscoring the importance of family engagement and teacher preparedness in shaping student technology trajectories.
• NSF Graduate Fellows and Middle School STEM Beliefs: A pre/post study of 1,145 middle school students finds that overall STEM beliefs and interests declined slightly after interaction with NSF Graduate Fellows — with the notable exception of technology interest, which increased — and that the NSF Fellow and student grade level, not the classroom teacher, drove changes in STEM beliefs, recommending further investigation of how scientist-educator collaborations can be designed to produce more consistently positive outcomes.

Leadership Development

• Leadership Expectations of County Farm Bureau Board Members: A quantitative study of Florida Farm Bureau county board members identifies gaps between the importance members assign to leadership, political process, effective boards, and Farm Bureau knowledge competencies and their actual proficiency in those areas, providing a needs-based foundation for designing a targeted leadership development program for county board members.
• Leadership Context and Role of Rural FFA Members: A quantitative study of rural FFA members in the southern region finds that members see themselves occupying all four roles on the youth participation spectrum — objects, recipients, resources, and partners — with the greatest agreement around youth-adult partnership within the context of others, recommending further research examining how years of FFA experience and educational level shape the leadership context for rural members.
• Factors Influencing Gifted and Talented Students' College Decisions: A quantitative study of students in the Virginia Governor's School for Agriculture finds that career goals, learning opportunities, self-motivation, and earning potential are the top drivers of post-secondary pursuit, while desired field of study, career goals, campus atmosphere, and institutional reputation most influence college choice, recommending that agricultural educators use these findings to more effectively recruit gifted students into agricultural degree programs.