University agriculture students are failing in terms of their general global knowledge. As such, the need exists to examine instructional techniques that may assist in overcoming this deficiency. One such approach is international service-learning (ISL). The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to explore the lived experiences of university agriculture students who participated in an ISL opportunity to Uganda, which was partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State. The essence of participants’ lived experiences is best described as a transformative shift in their global knowledge and perspectives. The processes that foregrounded this shift are described through six themes of meaning: (a) contextual border crossing; (b) dissonance; (c) personalizing; (d) processing; (e) connecting; and (f) sustained relationships. Findings suggest students’ perspectives could be modified through ISL. Using Kiely’s (2005) transformative learning model for service-learning (TLMSL), recommendations are offered for research, theory-building, and practice.

In spring 2018, nine agriculture students from Louisiana State University traveled to Nicaragua for a study abroad course. During this experience, students explored agricultural industries and engaged in cultural tours as well as in a service-learning project. Evidence has demonstrated that such experiences can transform students' intercultural sensitivity, global knowledge, and views on agriculture. To facilitate such an experience, however, requires educators to design experiences that challenge students' existing values and worldviews-a concept known as dissonance. Mezirow theorized that when individuals reflect critically on dissonance, it spurs a transformational learning (TL) process. However, knowledge of the types of dissonance that initiate TL in study abroad programs is insufficient. This study, therefore, sought to understand the multiple ways that students experienced dissonance during a study abroad course. Through our analysis, four forms of dissonance emerged: (1) environmental, (2) sociocultural, (3) intellectual, and (4) personal. When viewed through the lens of TL theory, the forms of dissonance appeared to shape and influence how students experienced TL as well as their resulting perspective changes. As a consequence, this study provided important insights into how study abroad courses could be designed and delivered to better encourage the maturation of students' perspectives on global issues and problems.

This national study examined effective student recruitment and retention practices used by colleges of agriculture in the United States among 1862 land-grant, 1890 land-grant, and non-land-grant institutions. Respondents reported that faculty at colleges of agriculture were primarily white. Through the analysis of subgroup percentages, the researchers found that the ethnic makeup of faculty was not reflective of the general population. The researchers found that administrators from 1862 land-grant institutions reported statistically significant differences (p < .05) regarding the use of specific strategies to target underrepresented populations in student recruitment as compared to other institutional types. Further, 1862 land-grant institutions reported statistically significant differences in student retention strategies (p < .05) as compared to other institutional types regarding the delivery of programs that aimed to retain first-year students. Based on key findings from this investigation, the authors developed the agricultural student retention model (ASRM) to help guide colleges of agriculture in improving their holistic retention program as they navigate inclusive and diverse institutional contexts. Additionally, key recruitment strategies were identified as well, that could facilitate holistic student recruitment efforts. Perhaps more significant progress can be made toward creating a sustainable agricultural workforce that is more reflective of U.S. population demographics using this model.

American education's journey has witnessed the rise and fall of various progressive education approaches, including service-learning. In many respects, however, service-learning is still undergoing formation and adoption as a teaching method, specifically in School-based, Agricultural Education (SBAE). For this reason, the interest existed to understand servicelearning's origins and its evolution as a method of instruction. As such, this historical study sought to describe the events and philosophical underpinnings presaging service-learning's emergence as a method of instruction, and how this approach to learning has been incentivized and used in SBAE. Findings and implications from the study revealed that service-learning's deep philosophical roots can be traced to great thinkers, including Aristotle, Plato, Rousseau, Kant, and Dewey. Moreover, the researchers suggest the core principals of service-learning align with delivering SBAE's three-circle model in effective and powerful ways. Moving forward, scholars and practitioners of SBAE should ask themselves, "Is service-learning the teaching method of choice for conflating the components of SBAE's three-circle model such that the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts?"

This study sought to understand the service-learning beliefs and intentions of agricultural education teacher educators. We collected quantitative data through a web-based survey instrument and course syllabi. Variables yielding statistically significant relationships were analyzed using cluster analysis, which produced three unique clusters operationalized as typologies representing the planned behaviors of teacher educators regarding service learning. For example, the Optimistically Unaware expressed positive beliefs about the method, but did not understand how to integrate service learning in their teaching methods courses. Meanwhile, the Policy-Focused Decision Makers used established education policy as anchors when navigating decisions, such as whether to feature service learning in their courses. Service-Learning Implementers espoused strong beliefs about the method's potential while also emphasizing how it could be used to enrich the preparation of agriculture teachers. Results point to the potential service learning holds if integrated as a complement to teacher preparation rather than an addition to current practice.

In the 1990s, higher education institutions began to dedicate substantial resources to support the integration of service-learning (SL) in courses across university campuses. However, a dearth in the knowledge base endures in regard to understanding how faculty members’, and especially agricultural education teacher educators’, underlying beliefs about the benefits of SL may influence their intentions and associated planned behaviors. This study, therefore, sought to understand the behavioral beliefs and intentions of agricultural education teacher educators regarding their use of SL as a method of instruction. To accomplish this, we used descriptive statistics to describe results derived from measures of relationships among the variables of interest. Overall, the teacher educators perceived that SL could provide benefits to classrooms and communities. Findings also revealed statistically significant relationships (p < .05) among the dependent variables and participants’ prior SL experiences. Despite reporting positive beliefs about the method, participants generally indicated they did not intend to use or highlight SL in their teaching methods courses. Future research should explore the chasm that exists between teacher educators’ beliefs and their intentions to use the method in the preparation of agricultural education teachers.

Service-learning (SL) appears to have influenced school-based, agricultural education (SBAE) since its early inception. And current trends suggest the method may be gaining increased interest in the discipline. However, little is known about the role that agricultural education teacher educators’ beliefs and intentions play in deterring SL’s use as a method of instruction in the preparation of agricultural education teachers. This study’s purpose, therefore, was to understand teacher educators’ normative and control beliefs as well as their intentions regarding SL as a method of instruction. Participants reported that barriers existed at the classroom level, which influenced their intentions. SL teaching experience was also found to have a negative and statistically significant (p < .01) relationship with agricultural education teacher educators’ beliefs about the challenges they associated with using the method. It is recommended that future research explore diffusion methods that could stimulate more widespread adoption of SL by teacher educators of agricultural education.

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