Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Assistants: Implications for Teacher Education

Abstract

Graduate assistants have an impact on undergraduate education through course instruction. For preservice agricultural education teachers, experiences with teaching assistants may be particularly influential, as their observations of educators could impact their perceptions and beliefs toward teaching. This qualitative study utilized data collected through individual interviews of six preservice agricultural education teachers at the University of Florida to explore preservice agricultural education teachers' perceptions regarding the quality of education received when instructed by a teaching assistant. We found that participants held mixed feelings about teaching assistants' impact on educational quality, and offered five areas of quality indicators participants used to gauge teaching assistant quality. The findings can be utilized to guide teacher educators in addressing students' experiences with teaching assistants in order to enhance their overall educational experience.

Identifying school-based agricultural education teacher needs and support gaps

“…Suggesting that resources for improving teachers' well-being is a critical need that must be addressed before other human capital skills can be developed to effectively support teachers in their practice. SBAE teacher's human needs were represented in 14 items identified aligning with subsistence and security from Table 3, suggesting that an individual's wellness is an essential need to maintain 21st century programs (Fisher & Royster, 2016;Shoulders et al, 2021;Sorensen et al, 2016). Six identified items represent relationships aligning with association in the hierarchy, illustrating the importance of connecting with stakeholders to meet students' needs (Doss et al, 2022;Fisher & Royster, 2016;Sorensen et al, 2016).…”

“…This lack of support causes a serve disconnect between the supporters and the teachers themselves. Could this disconnect influence teacher attrition as SBAE teachers long for a professional community (Fisher & Royster, 2016;Shoulders et al, 2021)? If these expert supporters are not supporting SBAE teachers, then who is?…”

“…Gaps currently exist and add to the stress, struggle, and overwhelming nature of the SBAE profession, the depths of which are unknown. Perhaps by addressing these gaps, we could create proactive change in SBAE teacher work-life balance and reduce the current attrition rate within the profession (Doss et al, 2021;Shoulders et al, 2021;Sorensen et al, 2016). Based on the items found through the Delphi process, SBAE teachers have support gaps that need to be addressed from a more human lens to truly create proactive support instead of being reactive to teachers' human needs and attrition from the profession.…”

“…School-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers are tasked with varied responsibilities in and out of the classroom while attempting to establish work-life balance (Terry & Briers, 2010). Unfortunately, SBAE teachers still have gaps in their abilities, complicating the work-life balance and stress that teachers face as they navigate purposeful professional development to further their human capital development Shoulders et al, 2021). A historical review spanning three decades of SBAE teacher needs assessments depicts that several needs are recurring, including general administrative tasks, public relations for the program, student behavior management, computer technology, FFA program management, and supervised agricultural experience (SAE) development (DiBenedetto et al, 2018).…”

The multifaceted challenges of teaching from home: A study of schoolteachers' well‐being during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…These included maintaining social connections, maintaining healthy lifestyle (e.g., exercising, practicing yoga, having a healthy diet, and maintaining daily routines), indulging in leisure activities (e.g., watching movies, reading, playing music, knitting, family recreation, and hobbies), promoting mental health (e.g., self‐care techniques like meditating, being grateful, talking about their emotions), work and study related activities, spiritual activities, and avoidance activities such as keeping themselves busy and keeping their mind occupied. Similarly, Shoulders et al (2021) found that the most frequent coping strategies used by teachers were to keep themselves busy, having good relationships, making work more interesting, having a good plan, seeking support from superiors and the community, and dealing with problems proactively. Teachers who applied functional coping strategies (e.g., planning or seeking social support) were able to manage the stress of the pandemic better than those who applied dysfunctional coping strategies such as giving up goals, drinking, or watching more television (Klapproth et al, 2020).…”