14 pages, One of the tools middle school SBAE teachers can use to deliver the total program is research-based SAEs, for which students can receive recognition through the FFA Agriscience Fair. This study examined why middle school SBAE teachers implemented the FFA Agriscience Fair into their programs. This study built on previous literature in this area, but with a specific focus on middle school programs. Using a qualitative case study, seven teachers that had various levels of use with Agriscience Fair were interviewed. Teachers were categorized into their levels of use for this innovation and spanned across multiple levels. Major themes from the interviews emerged that found the Agriscience Fair award area was a tool that teachers used to help strengthen their program by enriching the program offering and providing hands-on learning for students. Themes of teachers learning to figure out the complex rules of the competition to be successful as well as using relationships to help students be successful emerged. Recommendations were made to make the award area more intuitive, especially for teachers who are newer to the implementation including providing examples of manuscripts and presentation materials, providing lesson planning resources, and professional development.
Miller, Amelia (author), Warnick, Brian K. (author), Spielmaker, Debra M. (author), Pate, Michael L. (author), Judd-Murray, Rose (author), and Longhurst, Max L. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2025-01-17
Published:
USA: American Association for Agricultural Education
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 209 Document Number: D13469
16 pages, It is commonly held that parents have a profound impact on child development. Decades of research investigated the ways parents, the community, and school staff interact to foster student learning during kindergarten through twelfth grade education. Agriculture provides for daily needs through the growth, harvest, and processing of food, fiber, fuel, and forestry products. This research sought to understand the level of importance parents place on their children learning about agriculture in school. A 26-question survey was distributed to a nationally representative sample of parents having at least one child in K-12 education within the United States. Results of this study indicate parents found it important, even very important, for students to learn about many agricultural topics in school. Factors historically associated with parent perceptions and support of student learning proved to not significantly impact this indicated level of importance. Therefore, further research is needed to understand what impacts parents’ value of their students learning about agricultural topics in school. The conclusions of this study are of primary importance to entities conducting agricultural education outreach such as Agriculture in the Classroom programs, Extension, Career and Technical Education, agricultural industry organizations, and others interested in agricultural literacy.
14 pages, The implementation of urban school-based agricultural education programs has been a topic of growing interest. The literature indicates that urban programs are increasing in numbers and yet also presents unique challenges in implementation and programming. This case study examined a program which had traditional programmatic elements but in an urban community. The program utilized some traditional elements such as a barn with livestock and greenhouse focused on floral production. The program also layered elements of non-traditional programs including an emphasis on DEI work, deemphasizing the FFA, and curriculum to food production in the greenhouse. The implications of this case study for urban program design are important in that there is no one size fits all in programming for urban programs.
23 pages, We examined how an agricultural literacy professional development enhanced equity in seven secondary agriculture classrooms in a southeastern state. Utilizing the Equity Framework in Career and Technical Education and exploratory case study methodology, we examined the equitable barriers that seven secondary agriculture education teachers faced in their school sites and how targeted professional development might alleviate some of those challenges. Our findings revealed that all seven teachers faced barriers in their schools from two areas identified in the theoretical framework: educational adequacy and equal treatment. The professional development helped alleviate the educational adequacy barrier. More research is needed to elicit the role of professional development programs in counteracting equity barriers.
17 pages, Community engagement has significant impacts on SBAE teachers’ perceived opportunities to remain at their schools or in the profession at large. We wanted to better understand how interactions between teachers and their communities invoked challenge or support, particularly in helping us understand how to retain mobile teachers. Specific to this study, our purpose was to understand how individuals in communities interacted with each other’s positions to better identify where support and challenge were perceived. This discourse analysis utilized the metalanguage generated from a series of interviews, based in dialogue, with several actors across a single migratory context. To evaluate the use of positionalities, we aligned previously identified positions of each group against the other. This condensed to three themes articulating how actors’ positionalities interacted: Conflicting Requirements, I Can and I Will, and All My Love and Support for question one, and themes of Support and Challenge to answer question two. These themes culminated in an interactional work cycle recognizing replaceability and we discuss the theoretical implications of this work cycle for SBAE teachers and community influencers alike.
15 pages, Agriculture is a significant contributor to the global economy and critical for future food and fibre production. To maximise the industry efficiencies and improve sustainability, a knowledgeable workforce is essential. Today’s school-aged youth will be the next generation agriculture workforce. However, there is concern that today’s youth are more detached from agriculture than ever before, viewing the industry as an unattractive career prospect and possessing low levels of agricultural literacy. Using a qualitative approach, this research presents the results from an open-response survey item asking Australian primary and secondary students to ‘list three words you think of when you hear the word ‘agriculture’’. Focus groups with Australian primary and secondary teachers were also conducted to explore these findings. Overall, students appear to have what can be described as a conventional understanding of agriculture as it relates to traditional farming, particularly animal production. However, students appeared to have a lower level of understanding and perception of the industry in less-traditional settings, including modern careers and the technologies involved. Improved agricultural education in Australia, including both formal and informal programs on possible career paths and technology adoption in the industry is recommended to support knowledge development of the modern sector to attract the next generation workforce.
16 pages, School-Based Agricultural Education teachers faced a unique challenge during the COVD-19 pandemic as they continually tackled state and local health mandate decisions while teaching technical skills in a variety of settings, advising FFA chapters, and supervising work-based learning experiences. These challenges could influence teacher motivation in a variety of ways. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the essence of SBAE teacher motivation during the shared trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. This phenomenological study consisted of eight solo interviews and two focus group interviews (n = 14) that focused primarily on teachers’ motivation within their teaching role. Participant responses resulted in four themes: 1) stronger teachers emerging from the chaos, 2) triumphs and challenges of working with students in the three-circle model, 3) always the scapegoat, rarely allowed to graze, and 4) forced reconciliation of work-life priorities. These themes consisted of both motivational and demotivational factors in the teachers’ past year, and provide insight for state staff, teacher educators, and professional development providers as they support teachers as the pandemic continues.
14 pages, University agricultural educators are challenged to employ innovative approaches to prepare undergraduates in agriculture and natural resources to address complex global problems while understanding interconnected systems. Undergraduates, current members of Generation Z (Gen Z), prefer environmental sustainability and innovation, but solutions for addressing these preferences in educational settings remain elusive. Exploring Gen Z’s environmental consumption values and how those values relate to their systems thinking tendencies may provide university educators with insights on how to best educate Gen Z students. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between Gen Z students’ green consumer values and systems thinking tendencies. Data were collected using a web-based survey instrument of 68 undergraduate students at the University of [state]. Findings revealed respondents somewhat agreed they had green consumer values and respondents often used systems thinking when seeking to make an improvement. A Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient indicated a positive, yet weak, association between systems thinking tendencies and green consumer values. The association necessitates further exploration. University agricultural educators should incorporate systems thinking educational tools into classrooms so Gen Z students can effectively engage in systems thinking when addressing complex agricultural issues, like sustainability. Additional implications for systems thinking teaching are explored.
12 pages, Canning and home demonstration clubs played an important role in improving agriculture and home life shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Organized in local communities, these clubs for young girls and their mothers provided the opportunity for females to engage in experiential learning through the growth and canning of vegetables. Club work and activities allowed the involved individuals to learn important home life concepts including incorporating more nutritious meals, record keeping, maintaining the family garden, and other duties surrounding the home. In addition, clubs promoted cooperation among various groups, fostered friendships, and provided entrepreneurial opportunities for farm women. Movements such as these increased the demand for agricultural and extension education and many of the strategies developed through these clubs can be implemented in both formal and non-formal education today.
20 pages, Knowledge of agricultural practices has declined in recent years, resulting in consumers becoming uncertain of where and how their food has been produced and the marketing tactics used to promote the product. Historically, the U.S. population’s rich agricultural heritage coincided with higher levels of agricultural literacy. Some scholars, however, have maintained that U.S. culture has begun to lose touch with its agricultural foundations. More recent evidence has demonstrated that consumers acquire knowledge about their food from various media, most notably the Internet and social media. Often these sources use incorrect information and promote food and agricultural marketing trends that may not be grounded in scientific data. In response, this historical narrative analyzed a reform effort that occurred in U.S. food labeling policy and practice in the 1900s, which contributed to food labeling issues and consumer distrust in the agricultural industry. Based on the findings of this investigation, we concluded that food labels were initially intended to provide consumers with more profound knowledge of the food they purchased. However, key legislative acts such as the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act shifted the food labeling movement into a branding device to differentiate products and brands. We recommend that agricultural practitioners explore new ways to communicate their message more effectively. We also call for producers to incorporate more personal and emotional appeals when marketing agricultural products to better compete with third-party branding efforts.
