The most optimal way to prepare teachers is a source of debate and inquiry. The common view held in school-based agricultural education is to use professional development to augment what teachers learned in their teacher preparation program. This has been typically implemented through induction support and generic professional development. Fessler and Christensen (1992) described a teacher career cycle that highlights the need to differentiate professional development for teachers beyond the induction stage. Teachers in the Enthusiastic and Growing stage are described as having a high level of competence, but continue to grow as professionals. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of Enthusiastic and Growing school-based agriculture education teachers in order to inform professional development practice. A panel of 105 Enthusiastic and Growing teachers were selected to serve on a Delphi panel and asked to identify the characteristics of an expert agriculture teacher. Twenty-seven responses were agreed upon by the panel. Some characteristics were congruent with the existing descriptions of Enthusiastic and Growing teachers, while some descriptions were unique to school-based agricultural education. Based on these findings, professional development should be implemented using a systems approach to promote these characteristics in teachers.
Educating students with special needs in school based agricultural education (SBAE) is a problem that should be addressed. While many students in SBAE classes have special needs, contradicting research exists establishing the best method of instruction for students with special needs. Inquiry-based instruction shows some promise, but little is known about its effectiveness in SBAE settings for students with special needs. The purpose of this study was to determine if inquiry-based instruction impacts content knowledge achievement for students with special needs. A one-group pretest-posttest, design was used to determine if students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) differed in content knowledge achievement from those students without IEPs. No difference in content knowledge achievement was found between students with IEPs and those without over seven pre and post tests using ANCOVA measures. Based on these findings inquiry-based instruction can be an effective method of instruction for students with special needs and should be used when appropriate.
The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 disrupted education all over the world. Teachers and students were forced to adapt to online learning. In the U.S., school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers faced challenges in delivering what is traditionally a hands-on curriculum. This study used a Pedagogical Design Capacity framework to understand the experiences of four SBAE teachers at different career stages and different geographic regions of the U.S. Our results showed dissatisfaction over initial changes, frustrations over changes to program outcomes, and impacts to teacher well-being. Recommendations for research, practice, and policy are provided.
Teachers should possess a set of professional commitments, which includes active participation in professional development that leads to student learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between professional development engagement and career satisfaction. This study used a quantitative descriptive correlational research design. A purposive stratified sample of states and a census of teachers in those states were used. The Tailored-Design Method, using multiple points of contact with various modes was used to collect data with minimal survey error. There was a response rate of 72.5% (n = 892). The mean score for the professional development engagement was 118.3 (SD = 13.4; n = 858) on a 150 point scale. Agriscience teachers participated in workshops at a higher rate than any other type of professional development. Levels of implementation varied among types of professional development. The mean score for career satisfaction was 19.9 (SD = 4.4; n = 878) on a 25 point scale. Professional development engagement and career satisfaction had a moderate positive correlation (r = .34). These findings showed a high level of participation in professional development, especially workshops and a high level of career satisfaction. Recommendations for practice and future inquiry are provided.
Demands placed on teachers and students continue to increase in order to develop the skills required of the 21 st century workforce. There continues to be a need to utilize curriculum and instruction to inspire students to engage in STEM majors and careers. Improving instructional methods and providing opportunities for students to question and problem solve, through the use of inquiry-based instruction (IBI) can increase scientific reasoning abilities. This instructional approach may assist in improving, not only the academic achievement of students, but it may encourage students to plan to attend college and develop potential career aspirations for agriculture and STEM. This research used the scientific reasoning scores from 663 students enrolled nationwide in school-based agricultural education programs (SBAE) to predict students' likelihood to indicate plans to pursue a career in agriculture, STEM or plan to attend college. The findings reveal scientific reasoning scores predict students' likelihood to indicate intention to pursue a STEM career and plan to pursue college. Implications from this research suggest SBAE instructors should continue their efforts to incorporate IBI into instruction in order to engage students to think critically and solve real world problems, while exposing students to the skills requisite for STEM major/career access.
The profession of teaching is inherently stressful. Resilience, or the ability to adapt and develop competence despite exposure to disruptive change, has been shown to be beneficial for teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine if personal resilience is a predictor of professional development engagement and career satisfaction of agriscience teachers. A census of agriscience teachers in four purposefully selected states was taken. Data were collected using the Tailored-Design Method, using multiple points of contact with multiple modes to minimize survey error. The overall response rate was 72.5% (n = 892). The linear combination of independent variables in a stepwise backwards regression model explained 13.7% of the variance of professional development engagement and 21.4% of the variance of career satisfaction. These findings suggested that increasing the resilience of agriscience teachers, specifically in the areas of positive: world and focused, could lead to increased engagement in professional development and career satisfaction, which has been shown to be a factor that increases teacher efficacy. Additional research is needed to explore how to increase the resilience of agriscience teachers and the relationship between teacher resilience and student outcome variables.
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