A study of the relationship between selected educational experiences of vocational agriculture students and their enrolling in a College of Agriculture
Authors:   , Carpenter Frank Robert 
Published: June 2024

PURPOSE: The principal purpose of this study was to determine whether or not selected educational experiences of students from certain vocational agriculture departments tended to be significantly related to the students' later enrolling in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University. The study attempted to determine whether or not attendance at the Kansas State University agricultural science days, judging contests, state FFA conventions and other events on the campus tended to attract students to later enroll in the College of Agriculture. The study also sought to answer whether or not certain teaching techniques of vocational agriculture instructors or the formal education levels and professional improvement efforts of the teachers were significantly related to their students' attendance in the College of Agriculture. Inquiry was also made as to the effect selected FFA leadership activities might have on College of Agriculture attendance and as to the extent which high schools might vary in the percentage of their students who enter the College of Agriculture. SOURCE AND METHOD OF SECURING DATA: Data were obtained from records in the admissions office at Kansas State University, from files in the office of the state supervisor of vocational agriculture, from a file of the secretary of the Kansas Vocational Agriculture Teachers' Association and from completed questionnaires returned from selected vocational agriculture teachers. Major areas of inquiry included selected educational activities on the campus in which high school students participated, major FFA leadership activities, certain vocational agriculture teaching procedures and professional improvement of teachers. Data were recorded on IBM cards, frequency counts made and chi-squares computed. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: High school student participation in the state judging contests at Kansas State University was the only on-campus activity tested in which there was a significant relationship to attendance in the College of Agriculture. No significant difference was found between students' attendance at Engineers' Open House, at Veterinary Medicine Open House, at Agricultural Science Day, at practice judging on campus or in visiting with Agriculture faculty and students' enrolling in the College of Agriculture. Neither vocational agriculture students' participation in area conferences, college faculty speaking at FFA banquets or meetings nor college students' talking to high school FFA groups was significant when tested against attendance in the College of Agriculture. Posting scholarship records was the only teaching procedure which was significantly related to the College attendance. Those procedures not significant included the teaching of adult classes, the size of farming programs, teaching lessons on careers in professional agriculture, displaying agriculture brochures, using Experiment Station bulletins, teacher visiting students' parents about their sons' attending college, and the high school counselor speaking to vocational agriculture classes about agriculture related fields. None of the selected FFA leadership activities or the degree levels of the teachers was significant when tested against student attendance at the College. Combinations of tests not directly related to the student attendance in the College, but which were significantly related to each other included (1) teachers with M. S. degrees tended to take students to the campus to visit faculty more than did teachers with B. S. degrees, (2) teachers who attended Agricultural Science Day also visited parents on the subject of their sons' attending college, (3) teachers with M. S. degrees tended to visit with a higher percentage of parents about their sons' attending college, (4) teachers who visited with parents most were also the teachers who frequently posted scholarship records, and (5) teachers who held adult classes also supervised larger supervised farm programs in the high school classes. Teachers who made the most use of Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station bulletins visited parents least about attending the College of Agriculture.