Forecasting Doctoral-Level Content in Agricultural Education: Viewpoints of Engaged Scholars in the United States

Abstract

In this study, the researchers used a classical Delphi method to reexamine the conceptual framework, definition, and knowledge base of the field. Seventeen engaged scholars, each representing the expert agricultural education community, reached consensus on defining the field of study, 10 knowledge domains, and 67 knowledge objects. The Delphi panel agreed, "Agricultural education-2010, as a field of study, integrates social and behavioral sciences with the natural and applied science of agriculture, renewable natural resources, and environment. The knowledge base for agricultural education-2010 includes planning and needs assessment; curriculum development; learning theory; instructional design; delivery strategies; evaluation; research methods and tools; scholarship and writing; history, philosophy, and ethics; and contextual applications, culture, and diversity-all effecting continual improvement. Agricultural education empowers people to think more critically, to perform more skillfully, to communicate more clearly, to plan and affect change more efficiently, to solve problems more creatively, and to act based on principles-all of which involves vital choices and consequences in a global society." The Delphi panel concurred on 10 knowledge domains composed of 67 core knowledge objects consisting of fundamental and powerful concepts, knowledge, paradigms, skills, and/or theories that are essential for building professional practice in agricultural education.

Towards a Competency–based Extension Education Curriculum: A Delphi Study

“…The classic Delphi study has four phases which serve to take the broad quantity of data provided by panelists in the early rounds and gradually pare it down to a concise summary in the final round (Linstone & Turoff, 2002). This study emulated the design used by Shinn, Briers, and Baker (2008). It had four multi-segmented rounds that were conducted using SurveyMonkey.…”

“…The development of a vision for the year 2015 was designed to orient the panelists' thinking toward the future, thereby minimizing the threat of backward thinking identified by Athey and Orth (1999). A similar approach to visioning and competency identification was used by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service's Blue Ribbon Commission on Staff Development and Training (1999), Shinn et al (2008), and Shinn, Wingenbach, Briers, Lindner, and Baker (2009).…”

Preparing the Leadership Educator Through Graduate Education

“…Few standards exist for what should be included in a master's or doctoral program for leadership educators. In their seminal Delphi study to identify the knowledge base needed for doctoral education, Shinn, Briers, and Baker () identified eleven competencies: planning and needs assessment; curriculum development; learning theory; instructional design; delivery strategies; evaluation; research methods and tools; scholarship and writing; history, philosophy, and ethics; and contextual applications, culture, and diversity. In another Delphi study, Hyatt and Williams () identified roles and competencies of doctoral faculty who teach in leadership programs.…”

“…Several studies recommend that future leadership educators have a strong foundation in aspects of leadership learning as well as instructional design and delivery (Hyatt & Williams, ; Shinn et al., ). As Guthrie and Jenkins () discuss in the leadership learning framework, when learning is framed as an outcome it creates opportunities for intentional approaches to teaching.…”

Ethics and Its Relations With Education and Research

“…2 http://www.uel.br/projetos/iccal/ Using "Ethics and Applied Linguistics", we localized two studies (viz., Goldacre, Bolt, & Lambiris, 2013;Kim, 2008). Using "Ethics and Critical and Applied Linguistics", we found 15 researches (viz., Abrams, 2005;Angel & Simpson, 2007;Arnett & Mady, 2010;Davari, Iranmehr, & Erafni, 2012;Derrington & Larsen, 2009;Goldacre, Bolt, & Lambiris, 2013;Guardado, 2012;Jin, 2011;Mossman, 2012;Sánchez, 2007;Shinn, Briers, & Baker, 2008;Swain & Lapkin, 2011;Welch, Hieb, & Graham, 2015;Wernicke, 2010;Zhao, 2014). The term "Ethics and emancipatory" had just one paper (viz., Scalia & Scalia, 2011).…”