The Impacts of COVID-19 on school-based agricultural education teachers in the U.S.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 disrupted education all over the world. Teachers and students were forced to adapt to online learning. In the U.S., school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers faced challenges in delivering what is traditionally a hands-on curriculum. This study used a Pedagogical Design Capacity framework to understand the experiences of four SBAE teachers at different career stages and different geographic regions of the U.S. Our results showed dissatisfaction over initial changes, frustrations over changes to program outcomes, and impacts to teacher well-being. Recommendations for research, practice, and policy are provided.

Comparing the self-efficacy of Florida school-based agricultural education teachers delivering online and in-person instruction

“…As teachers addressed challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic in both their personal and professional lives (WHO, 2021), the modality of instruction had strong impacts on self-efficacy (Cohen's d = 0.79). The results in this study align with previous research that identified challenges teachers faced at the onset of the pandemic, including changes in teaching approaches, educational experiences, and teacher well-being (Easterly et al, 2021). Cardullo et al (2021) identified factors such as perceived usefulness and system quality as predictors for teacher self-efficacy, or the belief that teachers can successfully motivate students while teaching online.…”

“…The most powerful of these experiences included mastery experiences, by which an individual finds success in attempting a given behavior, and in turn be more likely to attempt the behavior again, ultimately finding themselves successful (Bandura, 1986). In the case of online learning, the frustrations shared by teachers presents a hurdle for mastery experience to occur (Cardulla et al, 2021;Easterly et al, 2021). Additionally, vicarious experiences provide the opportunity for observation of others and their success in completing a given behavior.…”

“…Although we do not know the exact social persuasion that was exerted on educators, we can connect the idea that internal feelings and emotions when completing a task can inherently influence self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986;McKim & Velez, 2016). Although teachers are flexible by nature, the emotional distress of navigating online learning in an already altered environment may have further reduced teachers' self-efficacy (Cardullo et.al., 2021;Easterly, 2021). In addition, teacher attitude and the facilitating conditions in which they teach can influence self-efficacy (Cardullo et al, 2021).…”

“…In addition, teacher attitude and the facilitating conditions in which they teach can influence self-efficacy (Cardullo et al, 2021). Technology issues surfaced in recent research related to remote instruction during COVID-19 (WHO, 2021), and remains a challenge for educators (Easterly et al, 2021). On the contrary, the familiarity of teaching inperson was reflected in a higher reported self-efficacy score for in-person instructors, despite factors that may have provided challenges for this modality (i.e., masks, social distancing, limited teaching practices).…”

Global emergency remote education in secondary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In studies where synchronous live video lessons were used, instances of engagement were found in more than double the number of studies than instances of disengagement. The use of breakout rooms for students to work together in groups was particularly engaging (Education Scotland, 2021) and interactive approaches for social online meetings, such as scavenger hunts and trivia were particularly popular (Easterly et al, 2021). Allowing students to use the chat function within live lessons also promoted peer interaction and peer teaching (Hodgen et al, 2020), as did providing social time at the beginning and end of lessons for students to catch up with each other in a more informal setting (Lepp et al, 2021).…”