A Historical Narrative On The Impact Of The New Farmers Of America (NFA) On Selected Past Members

Wakefield, Dexter; Talbert, B. Allen

doi:10.5032/jae.2003.01095

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We often teach students that there was a merger of the two organizations in 1965; however, when closely examining the traditions, logos, and history we must acknowledge that the term "merge" is not the most accurate term to describe how the two organizations were combined. Consequently, it should be no surprise there has been a lack of Black leadership in the National FFA Organization since the merger (Wakefield & Talbert, 2003). We are extremely careful not to assert all rural students are Rurally Privileged, rather, there are certainly conditions where very few of the defining characteristics may exist in certain rural settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban and Rural Latino Students’ Experiences in Agricultural Education: Toward Defining Rural Privilege

Elliott¹,

Lambert²

2018

JAE

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Agricultural Education programs continue to become more diverse and dynamic. However, diversity does not necessarily ensure equity or inclusion. As such, many programs strive to increase inclusive programming and ensure all students fully actualize the three-circle model of school based agricultural education. In some programs, students from rural and non-rural backgrounds coexist in a single setting. As part of a larger parallel mixed methods multiple case study investigating the experiences of Latino students in Agricultural Education, the data from this substudy found certain inequalities between the rural and non-rural students in three of the four cases. Three sub-themes emerged from the data: 1) Students from non-rural backgrounds may not possess the same understanding of agriculture and agricultural education as their urban counterparts; 2) Lack of privileged information may present a barrier to access, enrollment, and involvement in secondary agricultural education programs; and, 3) Students from non-rural backgrounds tend to report fewer opportunities and more barriers to fully actualizing the three-circle model. Thick, rich descriptions are provided of the participants' perceptions of these inequalities. Furthermore, researchers offer a working definition of Rural Privilege along with suggestions for practice and further research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban and Rural Latino Students’ Experiences in Agricultural Education: Toward Defining Rural Privilege

Elliott¹,

Lambert²

2018

JAE

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“…The fourth step was to articulate how members' feelings of isolation, unease, or alienation fit into the larger perspective of FFA ideology. This step required defining FFA ideology based on previous studies as being centered on rural and production agriculture topics and the majority of members being rural and White (Hoover & Scanlon, 1991;Lawrence et al, 2013;Martin & Kitchel, 2013;Phelps, Henry, & Bird, 2012;Wakefield & Talbert, 2003). The final fifth step of the research analysis was to reread the transcripts to find more instances which might reaffirm or deny our findings.…”

Section: Critical Theory Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While no researcher has viewed FFA directly from a critical theory framework, previous research indicates an ideology at play. In short, the ideology of FFA tends to focus on Caucasian, rural, and traditional agriculture (Hoover & Scanlon, 1991;Lawrence, Rayfield, Moore, & Outley, 2013;Phelps, Henry, & Bird, 2012;Wakefield & Talbert, 2003). Furthermore, Martin and Kitchel (2013) found the traditions of FFA are grounded in agrarian traditions, and these traditions would indicate the presence of overt and covert ideologies in FFA.…”

Section: Conceptual Framework Of Critical Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Theory View of the National FFA Convention

Martin¹,

Kitchel²

2015

JAE

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Urban FFA members face unique challenges if they want to become active members in the National FFA Organization. FFA leaders have realized that the FFA organization does not represent the evolving demographics of America and have made efforts to cater to urban and diverse high school audiences with some success. This study seeks to explore this phenomenon from the perspective of urban and diverse agriculture students through the use of a critical theory lens. This paper focuses on one group of urban FFA members and how they interpreted FFA culture while attending the National FFA Convention. The critical theory framework herein focuses on how these urban FFA members comprehended the FFA's rural and productionoriented agricultural themes. The Harris FFA members had the cultural resiliency to internalize the different cultural values they experienced and personally connect with some pieces of the culture presented. These members overlooked or adapted to the rural, White, and traditional agriculture values of FFA; but, more importantly, they focused on the leadership and community development values of FFA.

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“…Although the two organizations were similar, evidence found a lack of African American participation and leadership in FFA existed after the merger (Wakefield & Talbert, 2003). Many former members of the NFA believe this lack of African American representation was significant in the reduction of African Americans participating in FFA (Wakefield, 2001). Evidence suggested the NFA completely disappeared, and former members and teachers faced the difficult challenge of learning the traditions of a new organization and competing with long-time FFA members for awards and leadership positions (Talbert & Larke, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Thus, many among the African American community question if the uniting of the organizations was a takeover and not a merger. Although the two organizations were similar, evidence found a lack of African American participation and leadership in FFA existed after the merger (Wakefield & Talbert, 2003). Many former members of the NFA believe this lack of African American representation was significant in the reduction of African Americans participating in FFA (Wakefield, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Voices of African American Agriculture Teachers in One Southern State Regarding the NFA/FFA Merger

Jones,

LaVergne,

White

et al. 2021

JAE

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Sustaining human capital in the agricultural industry is critical to the United States' ability to maintain preeminence in the global economy. This goal has become a greater challenge due to declining participation in agricultural academic programs, particularly at 1890 institutions. Although the anticipated outcome of the 1965 "merger" of the New Farmers of America (NFA) and the Future Farmers of America (FFA) was to achieve synergy in this effort, the outcome was counterproductive in terms of the participation by people of color. This qualitative study utilized interviews, guided by 7 questions, to examine 22 African American teachers' perceptions of the impact of the merger. Participants taught agriculture in public schools in one southern state and/or were members and/or advisors in the NFA. Participants perceived that the merger was a "takeover" that led to a critical absence of participation and leadership development among African American youths. Participants agreed that the merger had a drastic, negative impact on the number of African American agriculture teachers produced and the number of individuals in the pipeline for agriculture-related careers, thus, a negative impact on building the industry's human capital. Findings from this study should induce innovative strategies to overcome the shortage of African Americans pursuing agriculture-related careers.

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A Historical Narrative On The Impact Of The New Farmers Of America (NFA) On Selected Past Members

Cited by 9 publications

References 8 publications

Urban and Rural Latino Students’ Experiences in Agricultural Education: Toward Defining Rural Privilege

Urban and Rural Latino Students’ Experiences in Agricultural Education: Toward Defining Rural Privilege

Critical Theory View of the National FFA Convention

The Voices of African American Agriculture Teachers in One Southern State Regarding the NFA/FFA Merger

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