Vol. 74 No. 01 (2024)

The manuscripts in Volume 74, Issue 1 (2024) of the Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research (JSAER) focus on strengthening agricultural education through improved STEM integration, better-prepared and supported teachers, workforce alignment, and more inclusive classrooms.

STEM Integration and Academic Alignment

• Current STEM Integration Levels: A quantitative study of SBAE teachers in Oklahoma and South Carolina finds that science is the most commonly integrated STEM component, with teachers reporting greatest confidence in science and least in engineering, highlighting gaps for teacher preparation programs to address.
• Educator Confidence and Gender: Research in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida reveals that female agricultural educators rated their confidence in integrating STEM into several AFNR content pathways statistically lower than male colleagues, particularly in Power, Structural, and Technical Systems, pointing to the need for targeted professional development.
• CTE Supervisor Perceptions: A survey of Florida CTE supervisors finds positive views of teachers' integration capacity, but supervisors noted that only some programs consistently incorporate science, mathematics, and reading, and identified academic integration as an area needing greater emphasis in preservice preparation.
• Guidance Counselors and Agriscience: Qualitative interviews with Nebraska guidance counselors reveal that while counselors recognize real-world applications in agriscience courses, limited knowledge of the science content within those courses prevents many from awarding science credit, urging agriscience instructors to better communicate what they teach.

Teacher Preparation, Hiring, and Retention

• Superintendent Hiring Priorities: A quantitative study in Oklahoma determines that superintendents prioritize teaching credentials and classroom performance when hiring and evaluating SBAE teachers, but place little value on candidates' ability to connect STEM or core academic concepts to agricultural curriculum.
• New Teacher Concerns: A needs assessment of beginning agriculture teachers in North Carolina's DELTA induction program identifies program management and planning as the highest area of need, with teacher concerns concentrated around task-related challenges.
• Challenges Facing Arkansas SBAE: Focus groups with Arkansas agricultural teachers surface a wide range of personal and professional challenges anticipated over the next decade, including teacher shortages and program sustainability, framed through Chapman's model of teacher retention.
• Agricultural Mechanics Competency: A study of Alabama agricultural mechanics teachers finds that General Safety and Electrical Wiring were rated highest in importance, while gaps between perceived importance and competence across other standards suggest barriers to full curriculum implementation.

Workforce Readiness and Extension Education

• Industry Skills Gap: Florida's Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Group identifies critical thinking, communication, time management, and genuine work ethic as essential skills lacking in entry-level applicants, challenging SBAE programs to more intentionally develop professional and attitudinal dispositions alongside technical skills.
• Extension and Technology Adoption: A phenomenological study of three greenhouse growing operations finds that miscommunication and distrust with change agents impeded adoption of an advanced growing system, offering recommendations for Extension professionals and innovators on facilitating transparent technology diffusion.
• Land-Grant Collaboration: A qualitative case study examines 15 years of multi-institutional research combating spotted wing drosophila, an invasive berry and cherry pest, identifying strong professional relationships, shared expertise, and effective communication as the key factors sustaining an unusually long-term research collaboration.

Equity, Inclusion, and Innovative Pedagogy

• Urban Students of Color: A qualitative study through the lens of teachers explores the motivational barriers and enablers facing urban students of color in agricultural education, finding that negative stereotypes and limited agricultural exposure are significant obstacles to engagement and retention.
• Gender Pronouns in SBAE: A longitudinal study tracking preservice SBAE teachers across three courses finds a decline in positive attitudes toward using students' chosen gender pronouns following student teaching, suggesting cooperating teachers' attitudes may undercut university preparation and pointing to the need for more deliberate inclusion training.
• Agricultural Literacy and Writing: A qualitative investigation of Alabama agriscience teachers finds that while vocabulary instruction and project-based learning are common, extended individual writing is largely absent, recommending that teachers add writing exercises to deepen students' disciplinary literacy.
• Body Mapping for Science Communicators: An innovative study uses body mapping to assess doctoral students' readiness to serve as science communicators, finding that students shifted from viewing communication as a mere tool to embracing active engagement, advocating for creative assessment methods that build metacognitive and soft skills in graduate programs.