In 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture reported that agriculture baccalaureate graduates were only expected to fill two-thirds of the available job openings. To address this need, it has become critical for colleges of agriculture to retain high-quality students. In response, universities have attempted to determine the practices to foster student success. Therefore, in this study we aimed to investigate how goal orientation factors (i.e., mastery goal orientation and academic efficacy) may influence the academic success (i.e., first semester GPA, second semester GPA) of College of Agriculture (COA) freshmen. The current investigation was grounded in goal orientation and social self-efficacy theory, which allowed us to understand self-efficacy’s influence on students’ academic performance. The findings from this study suggested that social and academic efficacy influenced the student academic achievement of COA freshmen. Therefore, it is recommended that university leaders foster self-efficacy for university agricultural students and that future research be conducted to determine the variables that describe the variance in first semester GPA and retention best.
Enhanced anaerobic dechlorination is being conducted to remediate a 50-acre groundwater area impacted with chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs). The plume, which is over 3,000 feet (ft) long, initially contained tetrachloroethene and breakdown products at concentrations of 2 to 3 milligrams per liter. The site's high groundwater flow velocity (greater than 1,000 ft per year) was incorporated into the design to help with amendment distribution. Bioaugmentation was conducted using a mixed culture containing Dehalococcoides ethenogenes. There is evidence that it has migrated to distances exceeding 600 ft. The major benefit of the high groundwater flow velocity is greater areal coverage by the remediation system, but the downside is the difficulty in delivering sufficient donor to create the required anaerobic conditions. Overall performance has been excellent with total CVOC reductions and conversion to ethene of 98 percent within a 25-acre area downgradient of the treatment transect that has operated the longest. O
As the global economy continues to advance, cultural competence has become a buzzword in education, professional development, and research. Despite this, little research has been devoted to understanding cultural competence in agriculture. Thus, a need emerged to describe the cultural competence of young agricultural leaders in Louisiana. Through data analysis, four themes emerged: (a) cultural anxiety, (b) cultural pressure, (c) the one-way (agri)cultural mirror, and (d) cultural lens expansion. The participants expressed anxiety to discuss cultural issues because of a fear of negative social ramifications. As a result, this yielded a pressure to adopt a culturally competent mindset to be successful. Additionally, participants recognized that the agricultural profession exhibited a unique cultural identity that produced a one-way cultural mirror whereby consumers and producers cannot understand one another. Because of this cultural barrier, participants recognized a need to expand their cultural lens, through domestic and international experiences, to better serve diverse populations. Therefore, we recommend that future research explore strategies that can cultivate cultural competence at earlier ages. For example, perhaps opportunities that feature cultural concepts could be offered more purposefully through 4-H, FFA, and Ag in the Classroom.
Although previous research in agricultural education has described the needs of SBAE teachers in regard to teaching students with special needs, the reported findings have been overwhelmingly quantitative in nature and have over-relied on females’ perspectives. As such, the purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences and professional development needs of female SBAE instructors in Louisiana when teaching students with special needs. Qualitative data were analyzed using the Borich (1980) model, which identified emergent themes of (1) perceived importance and (2) perceived ability. Additional sub-themes were the perceived importance of identified approaches used to accommodate students and perceptions when teaching students with special needs. Meanwhile, in the theme of perceived importance, participants identified prior education and professional development experiences as critical factors to success when teaching students with special needs. As a result of these findings, we recommended that state agricultural education leaders promote professional development opportunities to improve how female teachers can accommodate students with special needs, specifically in laboratory settings. Further, we recommend that future professional development for women SBAE teachers focus on specific disability types and inclusion strategies, rather than broad and non-specific special education training experiences.
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