ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Why Agricultural Educators Remain in the Classroom
Author: Crutchfield, Nina
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agricultural Education,Teacher Persistence,Family Work Relationship,Careers,Decision Making,Secondary School Teachers,Geographic Location,Gender Differences,Correlation,Teacher Participation,Questionnaires,Teacher Attitudes,Likert Scales

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe factors that are related to agricultural educator career retention and to explore the relationships between work engagement, work-life balance, occupational commitment, and personal and career factors as related to the decision to remain in the teaching profession. The target population for this study was defined as experienced agricultural educators who had completed a minimum of four years of teaching experience, who were currently employed in a secondary agricultural education classroom for the 2009-2010 school calendar. The accessible population consisted of those experienced agricultural educators in the southern region of the United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The study sought responses from a stratified random sample of those teachers to ensure geographical and gender representation equivalent that of the target population. This study employed descriptive-correlational research procedures. The instrument was constructed utilizing portions of four studies to measure the variables of interest. A linear regression analysis revealed a 25% variance in occupational commitment attributed to work-life balance and work engagement combined.
The Effect of Human Capital on Principals' Decisions to Interview Candidates in Agricultural Education: Implications for Pre-Service Teachers
Author: Robinson, J. Shane
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Human Capital,Preservice Teachers,Principals,Agricultural Education,Interviews,Administrator Attitudes,Teacher Education Programs,Teacher Effectiveness,Multivariate Analysis,Statistical Analysis

The purpose of this experimental study was to determine which factors of human capital were valued most by principals regarding their decisions to interview candidates, based on teacher resumes. The findings of this study point to the fact that principals desire teachers who are academically rigorous. That is, they desire teachers who have strong grade point averages, have been recognized in honor societies for their academics, and have taken elevated, rigorous coursework above and beyond what a typical agricultural education major would be required to take. The sex and certification route of teacher candidates had no bearing on principals' decision to offer an interview to the candidates. The fact that principals placed little value on certification type is concerning. It is recommended that this study be replicated in other states across the country to determine the prototypical agriculture teacher. It is assumed that the needs will vary from state to state. However, additional research is needed in this area.
Teacher Behaviors Contributing to Student Content Engagement: A Socially Constructed Consensus of Undergraduate Students in a College of Agriculture
Author: Estepp, Christopher M.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Behavior,Learner Engagement,Undergraduate Students,Agriculture,Agricultural Education,Qualitative Research,Focus Groups,Teacher Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,Student Attitudes,Semi Structured Interviews

Students in colleges of agriculture will face a dynamically changing workplace. In order to learn the skills needed to succeed in such an environment, students must be cognitively engaged in the college classroom. Engagement with instructional content is a precursor to learning, and teachers in colleges of agriculture must shift towards using more learner-centered, engaging instructional methods. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore college of agriculture students' perspectives of specific teacher behaviors contributing to cognitive engagement. A focus group methodology was applied using the Student Content Engagement (SCE) framework to guide the interviews. The SCE framework consists of four constructs that must be in place for cognitive engagement to occur: subject matter content level, occasion for processing, physiological readiness, and motivation. Results of the study showed a multitude of teacher variables contributed to student content engagement and many of the findings were consistent with prior research about effective teaching. What is more, teacher immediacy was discovered as a consistent theme throughout all of the constructs. We concluded that teacher immediacy might be a construct for consideration in the SCE framework.
Agrarianism: An Ideology of the National FFA Organization
Author: Martin, Michael J.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agricultural Education,Ideology,Professional Associations,National Organizations,Agriculture,Agricultural Occupations,United States History,Rural Areas,Rural Sociology,Geographic Regions,Values,Traditionalism,Self Efficacy,Program Effectiveness,Philosophy,Research Methodology,Self Management,Qualitative Research

The traditions of the National FFA Organization (FFA) are grounded in agrarianism. This ideology focuses on the ability of farming and nature to develop citizens and integrity within people. Agrarianism has been an important thread of American rhetoric since the founding of country. The ideology has morphed over the last two centuries as the country developed from a nation of farmers to an industrial world power. The agrarian ideology that resonated in rural America during the formation of the FFA was southern agrarianism. Southern agrarian ideology argued for self-reliance and adherence to past traditions. These concepts appear in the FFA traditions of the creed, opening ceremony, motto, and awards. The historical growth and success of the FFA within rural communities demonstrates the ability of the southern agrarian ideology to connect with contemporary rural values. However, the southern agrarian ideology may not connect with the culture of diverse, urban, or suburban students. Advisers of diverse, urban, or suburban FFA chapters may need to reconceptualize the FFA traditions to accommodate their students.
Investigating the Linkage between Intrinsic Motivation and Project Team Satisfaction in Undergraduate Agricultural Leadership Students
Author: Lamm, Kevan W.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Leadership,Agricultural Education,Student Motivation,Group Activities,Student Satisfaction,Student Projects

Organizations have increased the amount of work that is completed by project teams over the past several decades. This trend is projected to continue into the foreseeable future. In response to this trend, the academic community has increased the number of project team based learning experiences for students in classes. The challenge has been that students do not always enjoy team projects; frequently students express a lack of satisfaction with the project as well as the project team. The aim of this research is to empower agricultural education faculty to make better pedagogical decisions regarding agricultural leadership student project teams based on student intrinsic motivation leading to increased team satisfaction. No empirical research exists evaluating the importance of individual intrinsic motivation on project team satisfaction within an academic agricultural leadership setting. The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate agricultural leadership students' intrinsic motivation to complete a project influenced their project team satisfaction. Intrinsic motivation explained 49% of the variance in project team satisfaction scores. An implication of this finding is that to improve levels of satisfaction it is important to ensure the project is personally meaningful to the individual, thus increasing their intrinsic motivation.
Flipping an Agricultural Education Teaching Methods Course
Author: Conner, Nathan W.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agricultural Education,Teaching Methods,Homework,Video Technology,Electronic Learning,Educational Technology,Focus Groups,Student Attitudes,Teacher Education Programs,Lecture Method,Preservice Teachers,Program Effectiveness,Blended Learning,Qualitative Research,Interviews

Flipping or inverting a course is a relatively new approach to structuring a course. Using this method, the lectures traditionally delivered during regularly scheduled class time are converted to a media for delivery online, often in the form of videos. Learners are expected to view the online lectures prior to class. Then in turn, in-class time is used for a variety of application-type activities. This study documents participants' perceptions of flipping an agricultural education teaching methods course. Based on data from a focus group, we concluded that the participants thought the flipped classroom approach aided their learning of the teaching methods and the teaching and learning principles presented in the course. However, the participants offered numerous suggestions for improving the flipped classroom experience.
Identification and Validation of Agricultural Hazardous Occupations Order Certification Program Instructor Criteria and Competencies
Author: Snyder, Shannon
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agricultural Occupations,Safety Education,Agricultural Education,Criteria,Teacher Competencies,Identification,Validity,Certification,Land Grant Universities,Questionnaires,Secondary School Teachers

The USDA/NIFA has awarded funding to Land Grant Institutions to conduct and enhance the Hazardous Occupations Safety Training in Agriculture (HOSTA) program. The HOSTA program is designed to provide relevant educational opportunities in an effort to reduce the frequency and severity of farm-related injuries to all youth who work in agricultural production and to meet the current training requirements of the Agricultural Hazardous Occupations Order (AgHOs) for non-exempt youth. The Cooperative Extension Service and secondary school agricultural science and business programs are designated by the AgHOs as the only entities eligible to conduct and affirm completion of certification training. However, the law does not identify the minimum core competencies necessary for instructors and there are currently no evidence-based criteria to assess the preparedness of individuals who provide instruction to youth seeking AgHOs certification. One of the objectives of the current HOSTA project at Purdue University is to identify and validate prescribed criteria and desired core competencies for instructors who conduct certification training. This paper summarizes the findings of the validation process and reports on the core criteria and competencies identified.
An Analysis of FFA Chapter Demographics as Compared to Schools and Communities
Author: Lawrence, Shannon
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Demography,Comparative Analysis,Regional Characteristics,Rural Urban Differences,Gender Differences,Geographic Distribution,Racial Distribution,Agricultural Occupations,Enrollment Rate,Educational Attainment,Agricultural Education,Teacher Characteristics,Institutional Characteristics,Community Characteristics,Group Membership,National Organizations,Student Organizations

This descriptive study was a special project for the National FFA [Future Farmers of America] Organization to determine the demographic makeup of rural, suburban, urban, and randomly selected at-large FFA chapters from the four national FFA regions. Summary data for this study revealed that gender in selected FFA chapters was 55% male and 45% female. Eighty percent of FFA members were reported to be White while the respective communities were 54% White. Rural FFA chapters had the highest percentage of FFA members in relation to their agricultural education course enrollments. Urban chapters reported more than half (52%) of their agricultural education students were FFA members. The majority of agricultural education teachers are White males. The demographic characteristics of FFA chapters in relation to their respective schools and communities provide a snapshot of today's agricultural education programs and FFA chapters. Furthermore, this research could help identify strategies to move FFA chapters toward a more parallel representation of the schools and communities in which they exist.
Barriers to Participation in the National FFA Organization According to Urban Agriculture Students
Author: Martin, Michael J.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: National Organizations,Barriers,Student Participation,Agricultural Education,Urban Youth,After School Programs,High School Students,Statistical Analysis,Student Organizations,Questionnaires,Likert Scales

Urban youth engaged in after-school organizations have more positive attributes compared to their unengaged contemporaries. The FFA is one particular intra-curricular organization with after-school components; yet, urban students do not participate in FFA at the same levels as rural students. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore barriers to participation in FFA among urban high school agriculture students in an urban school district. We surveyed students' level of participation in FFA to determine their perceived barriers to FFA participation. Findings revealed students do not agree with any of the listed or expected barriers; however, significant differences surfaced between non-members and active members concerning barriers related to friends, family, school, and the community. The study exposed a need to address the perceptions of friends, family, and community when recruiting urban FFA members.
A Comparison of Student Engaged Time in Agriculture Instruction
Author: Witt, Phillip A.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agricultural Education,Comparative Analysis,Learner Engagement,Time Factors (Learning),Active Learning,Inquiry,Secondary School Teachers,Quasiexperimental Design,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Classroom Observation Techniques,Animal Husbandry,Video Technology,Hypothesis Testing,Student Behavior,Protocol Analysis,Intermode Differences,Secondary School Students

Teacher and student behaviors in the classroom have been linked to student achievement. The hands-on, real world experiences which students are offered through career and technical education courses provide an opportunity for agricultural education to make contributions to student achievement. The purpose of this study was to compare engaged time during traditional instruction and during the instruction of an inquiry based curriculum (CASE [Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education]). The target population for this study consisted of students enrolled in animal science courses taught by secondary agriculture teachers. The study employed a quasi-experimental, static-group comparison design. Nine CASE certified teachers represented the treatment group, which were matched with nine traditional agriculture teachers on selected criteria. Student engagement was measured using the Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools. Matched pairs t-tests were used to compare the CASE group and the traditional group on student engagement. Students in the CASE group were found to spend significantly more time actively engaged than those in traditional agriculture courses. From the findings it was concluded that the CASE curriculum and professional development can impact the active engagement of students in the classroom and potentially affect student achievement.
Effects of Mathematics Integration in a Teaching Methods Course on Self-Efficacy of Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers
Author: Stripling, Christopher T.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agricultural Education,Preservice Teachers,Mathematics Instruction,Methods Courses,Mathematics Skills,Self Efficacy,Quasiexperimental Design,Pretests Posttests,Teacher Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,Hypothesis Testing,Surveys,Student Characteristics,Statistical Analysis,Control Groups,Experimental Groups

Teachers who are efficacious persevere through challenges in the learning environment and put forth more effort in designing learning activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mathematics teaching and integration strategies (MTIS) on preservice agricultural teachers' personal mathematics efficacy, mathematics teaching efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy in a teaching methods course. The research design was quasi-experimental and utilized a nonequivalent control group. Data were collected at the following three collection points; (a) week 1 of the semester; (b) week 12 of the semester/after the preservice teachers in the treatment group delivered their first mathematics enhanced lesson; and (c) week 15 of the semester. Participants were moderately efficacious in mathematics teaching efficacy and efficacious in personal mathematics efficacy and personal teaching efficacy at all three data collection points. Furthermore, significant differences were not found in the mathematics teaching efficacy, personal mathematics efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy of the preservice agricultural teachers based upon the MTIS treatment.
Investigating the Effects of a Math-Enhanced Agricultural Teaching Methods Course
Author: Stripling, Christopher T.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Agricultural Education,Mathematics,Teaching Methods,Program Effectiveness,Methods Courses,Preservice Teachers,Mathematics Skills,Teacher Effectiveness,Self Efficacy,Hypothesis Testing,Mathematics Tests,Peer Teaching,Statistical Analysis,Pretests Posttests

Numerous calls have been made for agricultural education to support core academic subject matter including mathematics. Previous research has shown that the incorporation of mathematics content into a teaching methods course had a positive effect on preservice teachers' mathematics content knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a math-enhanced agricultural education teaching methods course on preservice agricultural education teachers' mathematics ability, personal mathematics efficacy, mathematics teaching efficacy, and personal teaching efficacy. Results indicated that preservice teachers' mathematics ability increased after the math-enhanced teaching methods course. Interestingly, personal mathematics efficacy decreased while mathematics teaching efficacy and personal teaching efficacy increased slightly after the math-enhanced teaching methods course. Based on the results of this study, peer-teaching that utilizes the seven components of a math-enhanced lesson may be an appropriate means to improve the mathematics ability of preservice agricultural education teachers.
Student Perceptions of Instructional Methods towards Alternative Energy Education
Author: Sallee, Clayton W.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Energy,Fuels,Student Interests,Correlation,Pretests Posttests,Self Efficacy,Hypothesis Testing,High School Students,Agricultural Education,Likert Scales,Knowledge Level,Statistical Analysis

The effectiveness of different methods of instruction has been discussed since the early years of formal education systems. Lecture has been deemed the most common method of presenting information to students (Kindsvatter, Wilen, &amp; Ishler, 1992; Waldron &amp; Moore, 1991) and the demonstration method has been symbolized as the most effective tool developed for teaching (Seevers, Graham, Gamon, &amp; Conklin, 1997). Engaging students is paramount to allowing instructors to expand student knowledge levels. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Arkansas Secondary Biodiesel Education Program (ASBEP) over alternative fuels had an effect towards student interest. A significant difference was found between student interest in method of presentation, t(7) = 8.29, p &lt; 0.05. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation (r = 0.73) was found between posttest scores and student tinkering self-efficacy. Tinkering self-efficacy was also found to be positively and significantly correlated with method of instruction. Through understanding perceptions held by student being taught through different methods, instructors can capitalize and further knowledge acquisition by students.
Development and Evolution of Agriculturally Related Merit Badges Offered by the Boy Scouts of America
Author: Terry, Robert, Jr.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Recognition (Achievement),Youth Programs,Males,Agriculture,Agricultural Occupations,Agricultural Education,History,Documentation

Badges of Merit have been a primary component of Scouting programs since the inception of the movement more than 100 years ago. The diverse range of subjects for merit badges has included 32 programs relating directly to agriculture. The focus of this historical research was to identify when agriculturally related merit badges were introduced, describe changes made to these programs since their introduction, and to determine their popularity with Scouts. Records reveal that merit badges on a variety of agricultural subjects such as beef cattle production, rabbit raising, gardening, landscaping, agribusiness, and agricultural mechanics have been offered by Boy Scouts of America (BSA) since before the founding of the National FFA Organization or passage of the Smith-Hughes Act. Forestry and Soil and Water Management have been the two most popular agriculturally related merit badges, while Animal Science and Plant Science are among the least popular of all merit badges offered currently. It is recommended that agricultural educators support these merit badge programs and help facilitate their offering to BSA members. This study provides the foundation for further investigation into the promotion of agricultural literacy through BSA and other organizations not normally associated with agricultural education.
Engaging Students in Constructive Youth-Adult Relationships: A Case Study of Urban School-Based Agriculture Students and Positive Adult Mentors
Author: Bird, William A.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Case Studies,Urban Schools,Agricultural Education,Mentors,Youth,Adults,Role Models,Veterinary Medicine,High School Students,High Schools,Documentation,Observation,Vignettes,Interviews,Program Effectiveness,Communities of Practice

The purpose of this bounded single case study was to explore the day-to-day functioning of a successful urban school-based agriculture veterinary program. Findings indicated student success was a product of multiple youth-adult relationships created through communal environments. Adults served as mentors with whom students felt constant, caring support. The bonds formed between students and adults were a result of the program and/or internship atmosphere. This case demonstrated how a school-based agricultural veterinary program can serve the educational needs of students in urban areas. The potential learning outcomes include developing students' understanding of agriculture content knowledge, professional skills attainment, and life skill development necessary for healthy, productive lives beyond formal schooling. The researchers recommend agriculture teachers develop opportunities for students to cultivate meaningful relationships with adult role models beyond the classroom. Agriculture teachers should adopt teaching and communication strategies to encourage open, trusting, and safe learning environments to enhance student engagement.