An Evaluation Of The University Of Idaho Beginning Agriculture Teacher Induction Program

Abstract

According to Schulman (1987), teaching may well be the most difficult of all professions to master. It is one of the few professions that expects the first-year teacher to immediately perform at the same level as his or her experienced colleagues. These expectations, however unfair. do have validity in the fact that the students of a first-year teacher deserve a quality education. Keeping thii in mind, how can these new teachers be helped so they can provide a good, solid education for their students while functioning in a new environment of school politics and social structure. In recent years, the answer to this complex question has been to provide some form of beginning teacher induction or assistance program. This assistance has ranged from informal friendships to very formal and structured programs. No matter what type of program has been adopted, they have all been initiated for the reason that new teachers need help. New agriculture teachers especially need this help. Scott (1988) believes one of the most critical issues facing agriculture teacher educators is how to provide an induction program that will reduce the many problems confronting first-year teachers. These new agriculture teachers are not only responsible for the activities of a normal subject teacher, such as classroom management and subject content, but they are also responsible for an entire program of vocational education. In order to meet this need faced by beginning agriculture teachers, the University of Idaho Department of Agricultural and Extension Education has initiated and has administered a first-year teacher induction program for beginning agriculture teachers in Idaho since the fall of 1985. Since implementation, no formal assessment or evaluation of the program has been conducted. The purpose of the program has been to provide leadership, technical assistance. and support in the transition from student to first-year teacher. Specific objectives of the program include: Assist with the continued development of effective pedagogical skills into habits of practice in the first-year teacher's classroom. Assist in the development of vocational program operation and effectiveness to include assistance with: curriculum scope and sequence, program philosophy, goals and objectives, FFA program of activities, annual and long-range plans, and utilization of advisory committees. The structure of the induction program has included three components. First, individual on-site consultations have occurred two to three times during the school year. A teacher educator has visited each beginning teacher in their school to observe teaching, Summer 1993

Professional Development Needs of Beginning Agricultural Education Teachers in Idaho

“…Several of the items across categories were related to organization of the instructor both in and out of the classroom as hygiene factors identified by the Herzberg Motivational Hygiene Theory (Herzberg et al, 1959) regarding work and organizational environment and supported previous research: volume of work (Mundt & Connors, 1999); time management (Mundt & Connors, 1999;Myers et al, 2005;Stair et al, 2012); communication (Myers et al, 2005); classroom management skills (Cannon, Kitchel, & Duncan, 2012;Cannon, Kitchel, Tenuto, et al, 2012;Garton & Chung, 1996;Joerger, 2002;Myers et al, 2005;Nesbitt & Mundt, 1993;Robinson & Edwards, 2012;Ruhland & Bremer, 2002;Stair et al, 2012); paperwork (Stair et al, 2012); budgets (Kitchel, Cannon, & Duncan, 2009); work/life balance (Myers et al, 2005); program planning and prioritization (Garton & Chung, 1996); state level forms and documents (Garton & Chung, 1996;Kitchel et al, 2009); and recruiting students (Stair et al, 2012). The areas of concern identified were also categorized based on the Herzberg's Motivational-Hygiene Theory (Herzberg et al, 1959) as either Motivational or Hygiene factors.…”

“…Additionally, professional development was needed to address classroom transition, induction, and mentorship (Joerger, 2002;L. L. Moore & Swan, 2008;Nesbitt & Mundt, 1993).…”

“…According to Fessler (1992), the goal of in-service and professional development training for induction teachers should be to provide them with the resources needed to move from the induction to competency building to enthusiastic and growing stages of the teacher career cycle ladder. The length of time in the induction phase can vary from 3 years (Huberman, 1989) to five years (Nesbitt & Mundt, 1993;Touchstone, 2014), though the career cycle stages in which teachers fall can be somewhat fluid (Fessler, 1992). Career frustration may be a recurring cycle stage throughout a teacher's career, as may career stability, depending on the organizational, personal, and hygiene factors which influence the individual instructor (Fessler, 1992;Huberman, 1989).…”

An Assessment Of The Inservice Needs Of Beginning Teachers Of Agriculture Using Two Assessment Models

“…Agriculture teachers have had and continue to have a need for inservice education. Historically, inservice programs have been conducted to assist agriculture teachers, especially beginning teachers, in learning the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their teaching roles (Bar-rick, Ladewig, & Hedges, 1983;Birkenholz & Harbstreit, 1987;Nesbitt & Mundt, 1993). Many of these inservice programs have been developed based on research (Hillison, 1977;Shippy, 198 1;Hachmeister, 198 1;Claycomb & Petty, 1983;Veeman, 1984;Birkenholz & Harbstreit, 1987;Valli, 1992) that identified the needs of beginning teachers.…”

Perceptions of High School Cooperating Agricultural Teachers on the Performance of Student Teachers

“…Research conducted on the effective traits of teachers, in general, only partially describes what an agricultural teacher needs to be successful. Agricultural teachers must deal with instructional techniques such as the clarity of their instruction and the enthusiasm when presenting material (Rosenshine & Furst, 1971), as well as conducting business within an agricultural education program (Nesbitt & Mundt, 1993). Based on the three-circle model of agricultural education (i.e., instruction, FFA, & SAE), agricultural teachers must possess skills in time and organizational management, recruitment of students, and building support for the program (Mundt & Conners, 1999;Swortzel, 1995).…”