The purpose of this philosophical article was to examine the role of agriculture in agricultural education. This philosophical argument, in many ways, reexamines the very discussions pondered by Dewey and Snedden almost a century ago. In secondary agricultural education classes today, is agriculture the content learned, or the context in which learning occurs? In exploring this issue, theoretical bases and conceptual models for agriculture as content and context are presented. It was concluded that there are theoretical bases for viewing agriculture both as content and context for teaching agriculture at the secondary level. Accordingly, a model is proposed that acknowledges that agriculture provides a rich context in which learning can occur. Today's agricultural educators teach both agricultural content and knowledge from other domains, yielding integrated curriculum. Learning occurs in complex social environments with teacher-to-learner and learner-to-learner interactions. Agricultural education has dual outcomes: a skilled agricultural workforce and successful citizens that are agriculturally literate contributors in a democratic society. The two aforesaid outcomes are not mutually exclusive, and former students (and lifelong learners) may move in and out of gainful employment in the agricultural industry throughout their lifetime.

The purpose of this investigation was to identify and synthesize research related to agricultural literacy since the publication of Understanding Agriculture-New Directions for Education (1988). The researchers sought to determine where agricultural literacy research was published, which populations were targeted, the purpose of the research, and the findings of agricultural literacy studies published between 1988 and 2011. Overall, a total of 49 studies were found-17 studies in the Journal of Agricultural Education, seven studies in the NACTA Journal, three studies in the Journal of Extension, 18 studies in national or regional American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) conference proceedings, and four miscellaneous studies. The populations targeted in agricultural literacy research were teachers, students, and non-educator adults with elementary teachers and students being the most frequently targeted populations. The purposes of the respective studies were coded into three specific areas: (a) assess agricultural literacy; (b) test the effectiveness of an agricultural literacy program; or (c) develop a framework or guide used to assist educators. While the programs were found to be successful in increasing agricultural literacy, many populations assessed were found to be agriculturally illiterate. Further research is warranted to explain areas of deficiency in agricultural literacy.

The purpose of this study was to describe the levels of cognition modeled and the alignment among the levels of cognition modeled via course objectives, instructional strategies, and assessments in preservice teacher preparation courses. The accessible sample consisted of seven teacher educators teaching courses for secondary and middle school-level education majors at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Higher levels of cognition (application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) were modeled in 88% of the preservice teacher preparation course objectives. Lower levels of cognition, were modeled in 61% of classroom discourse. Application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels of cognition, represented 39% of the classroom discourse. Higher levels of cognition as a whole represented a mean of 90% of all classroom assessments, with the synthesis level of cognition representing a mean of 40% of the classroom assessments for all instructors. Hierarchical cluster analysis methods were employed to examine the alignment among the cognitive levels of instructional objectives, classroom discourse, and assessments, respectively.

Expanded school mental health (ESMH) utilizes interprofessional collaboration to implement learning support and mental health promotion strategies in schools. This study reports on the early development and initial psychometric examination of a new scale, the Index of Interprofessional Team Collaboration for Expanded School Mental Health (IITC-ESMH), for measuring the functioning of interprofessional teams. Exploratory factor analysis results, using data collected from 436 members of interprofessional teams in schools, yielded a 26-item scale with a four-factor model (a) Reflection on Process, (b) Professional Flexibility, (c) Newly Created Professional Activities, and (d) Role Interdependence. Cronbach's alphas for the four factors were .91, .91, .84, and .80 respectively. The findings from this study provide evidence to support the IITC-ESMH as a reliable instrument for measuring interprofessional collaboration.

The beliefs and mental images that teachers have about agriculture likely influence what and how they integrate agriculture into their instruction. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the beliefs and needs of elementary and junior high school teachers in regard to integrating agriculture into their classrooms. The sample consisted of 452 teachers from public schools in Illinois. Teachers responded to three, open-ended questions regarding their beliefs of the most beneficial aspects and needs of teaching and learning about agriculture. Teachers believed that agriculture provided situatedness, connectedness, and authenticity to teach their content areas to their students. Teachers also shared topics and instructional resources that they wanted to know more about regarding the integration of agriculture. The findings from this study can inform agricultural literacy coordinators and agricultural teacher educators regarding inservice programming for integrating agriculture into classrooms.

Universities across the nation have established criteria in the selection of students for admission. This correlational study was conducted to determine predictors of academic performance and retention of freshmen in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) at the University of Missouri. Freshmen enrolled in a college-wide learning and development course in the Fall of 1997 (n = 245) and 1998 (n = 195) participated. The following admission criteria were investigated as possible predictors of academic performance and retention: ACT examination, high school core grade point average (GPA), and high school class rank. In addition, students' preferred learning styles were investigated as a possible predictor of academic performance and retention. Regression analysis was utilized to account for the variance in students' cumulative GPA at the completion of the freshmen academic year.Stepwise discriminant analysis was performed to build a predictive model that could determine whether a linear combination of learning style, ACT score, high school class rank, and high school core GPA could be used to predict student enrollment status for the fall semester of the sophomore year. Learners preferring a field-independent learning style exhibited a tendency for greater academic performance than did their field-dependent peers in the first year of college. The best predictor of academic performance during the first year of college for 1997 freshmen was a combination of their high school core GPA and ACT score. However, high school core GPA alone was the best predictor of college academic performance for freshmen who began their college career in 1998. Furthermore, learning style was not a predictor of students' academic performance during their first year of enrollment in a college of agriculture. Only the traditional university admission variable of high school core GPA was successful in predicting students' first year cumulative GPA. In the current study, the traditional criteria used for college admission was found to have limited value in predicting agriculture students' retention. The study raises questions regarding the effectiveness of current college admission variables as predictors of agriculture students' academic performance and retention.

This intrinsic case study examined the case of students on CDE (Career Development Event)

One of the most important challenges facing colleges of agriculture today involves recruiting, retaining, and educating high caliber individuals who are academically prepared to function in a rapidly changing food, fiber, and natural resource industry. This study compared the influence of participation in a learning community called a Freshman Interest Group (FIG) and participation in agricultural youth organizations (4-H/FFA) on academic performance and retention of freshmen in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. Freshmen enrolled in a college-wide learning and development course in the Fall of 1997 and 1998 (n = 442) participated. Involvement in a FIG and participation in an agricultural youth organization (4-H and/or FFA) were investigated as variables that could possibly influence academic performance and retention. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) procedures were utilized to determine the influence of participation in FIGs and agricultural youth organizations on academic performance. The Chi square test for association was utilized to determine the influence of participation in FIGs and agricultural youth organizations on retention. Participation in a Freshman Interest Group was not found to be a significant variable influencing students' academic performance or retention for the sophomore year. However, prior involvement in agricultural youth organizations was found to have a significant association with students' academic performance as well as retention. The study raises important implications for the recruitment of individuals with prior experience in agricultural youth organizations.