Supervision of School-based, Agricultural Education: A Historical Review

This study’s purpose was to understand the historical evolution of the supervision of school-based, agricultural education (SBAE). Supervision as a concept is described, including its emergence as an integral part of public school education in the United States. Moreover, the perspectives of early leaders of vocational education, such as Charles Prosser, are examined, as well as the impact of the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 and other key federal legislation that came afterward. Supervision of SBAE as inspection and administrative oversight and for the purpose of instructional improvement is explored. We also discuss the early supervisory role of teacher educators of agricultural education; the ascendance and, in some cases, later decline of state staff as supervisors; and the role of local school administrators in the supervision of SBAE, including some of the philosophical tensions and divergent views among and between those stakeholders. Implications and recommendations are offered regarding the supervision of SBAE in the future, especially the role of professional organizations, such as the National Association of Agricultural Educators, the American Association for Agricultural Education, and the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education, and their working in concert with The National Council for Agricultural Education

Teaching Students with Special Needs in School-Based, Agricultural Education: A Historical Inquiry

The purpose of this historical study was to investigate the inclusion of students with special needs in school-based, agricultural education as reported by The Agricultural Education Magazine and the Journal of Agricultural Education over a time period of six decades. The impact of landmark legislation, such as the Vocational Education Act of 1963, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1990, were examined. This legislation motivated and supported agricultural education’s efforts to meet the learning needs of special education students by providing modified lessons and learning environments, inclusive SAEs and FFA activities, and focused teacher preparation. Challenges and concerns regarding the placement of special needs students in school-based, agricultural education are also discussed, as well as opportunities for related research in the future, especially about their participation in the FFA

Planned Behavior Typologies of Agricultural Education Teacher Educators Regarding Service Learning as a Method of Instruction: A National Mixed Methods Study

This study sought to understand the service-learning beliefs and intentions of agricultural education teacher educators. We collected quantitative data through a web-based survey instrument and course syllabi. Variables yielding statistically significant relationships were analyzed using cluster analysis, which produced three unique clusters operationalized as typologies representing the planned behaviors of teacher educators regarding service learning. For example, the Optimistically Unaware expressed positive beliefs about the method, but did not understand how to integrate service learning in their teaching methods courses. Meanwhile, the Policy-Focused Decision Makers used established education policy as anchors when navigating decisions, such as whether to feature service learning in their courses. Service-Learning Implementers espoused strong beliefs about the method’s potential while also emphasizing how it could be used to enrich the preparation of agriculture teachers. Results point to the potential service learning holds if integrated as a complement to teacher preparation rather than an addition to current practice

What did Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs in Nicaragua Recognize as Agribusiness and Ecotourism Opportunities using Photovoice as a Data Collection Tool?

Interest in entrepreneurship education by scholars and practitioners as a way to overcome poverty is growing. Yet little is known about how entrepreneurship can be a successful approach to achieving prosperity in resource-poor conditions. Entrepreneurship has been mainly associated with the view of entrepreneurs as super humans capable of solving all problems, especially if operating in resource-rich contexts. This qualitative study’s purpose was to explore, through photovoice methodology, the entrepreneurial opportunities involving agribusiness and ecotourism that Nicaraguan students recognized in their communities. Photovoice allowed the researchers to gain in-depth information from students who expressed in images what may have been difficult to explain in words. The students recognized different opportunities linked to their contexts as expressed through photos documenting local assets and materials. The study participants also indicated interests in doing social good, which suggested a more societally oriented view of entrepreneurship. The poor, including youth often marginalized, were able to recognize business opportunities in concert with their economic conditions. Opportunity recognition may be one of the more promising ways to overcome poverty. Its facilitation holds implications for agricultural, tourism, and rural development curricula and educational programming

Overcoming Resistance to Service-Learning’s Use in the Preparation of Teachers for Secondary Agricultural Education: A Reframing of the Method’s Diffusion Challenges

Although service-learning (SL) has shown promise, its adoption as a method of instruction in secondary agricultural education remains tentative. As such, this philosophical investigation examined how resistance to SL might be uniquely manifested in the context of teacher preparation and the implications for agricultural education if viewed through the lens of Rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory. After synthesizing related research and theory, we argue the method of instruction’s barriers to adoption include not only a misalignment between teacher educators’ beliefs and practices, but also result from a lack of knowledge, including (a) awareness, (b) how-to, and (c) principles (Rogers, 2003). We also posit that contextual influences at three levels–personal, institutional, and societal –drive or constrain teacher educators’ knowledge of SL during the innovation-decision process. By reframing the problem in this way, implications emerge regarding the difficulties teacher educators may experience as they cross contextual borders and attempt to overcome the knowledge deficiencies likely to influence their pedagogical decision-making. In this regard, we offer an expansion to Rogers’ (2003) innovation-decision process so teacher educators can forecast,isolate, and address better the contextual challenges and knowledge-related problems likely foregrounding their resistance to adopting SL as a method of instructio

Examining the General Global Competence of Students Enrolled in an International Dimension Course: An Attempt to Internationalize Undergraduate Education in a College of Agriculture

Many U.S. colleges and universities are concerned with how best to prepare students to become globally competent citizens. Therefore, the need existed to examine the general global competence of students enrolling in international dimension (ID) courses at Oklahoma State University. This investigation was a census study; the target population included all undergraduate students (N = 147) enrolled in three ID courses offered in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) during the fall semester of the 2010–2011 academic year. General knowledge instruments were used to gather pretest and posttest data to measure differences. Although students’ post-course scores were higher than pre-course scores, their overall performance was below 60%. This difference in knowledge gain connoting general global competence was statistically significant (p \u3c .05), but the corresponding effect size was small, which signaled little practical significance. Whether ID courses are an efficacious way of achieving substantial change in students’ general global competence remains an open question. A more appropriate method to assess change in general global competence may be writing assignments. Faculty are encouraged to improve their ID courses by infusing learning experiences that stand to enhance students’ general global competence while complementing content-specific objectives

Former 4-H Key Club Members\u27 Perceptions of the Impact of Giving Life Skills Preparation on Their Civic Engagement

Does 4-H make an impact on the civic engagement of adults? If so, do former 4-H members view the impact as being greater than that of other programming? This article describes perceptions of former 4-H Key Club members regarding the application of giving life skills preparation on their civic engagement. The impact of youth organizations on acquisition of giving life skills is also described. Participants agreed they were applying giving life skills acquired through 4-H, and that those experiences had a major impact on their civic engagement. It is recommended that giving life skills programming be continued

Transforming Students’ Global Knowledge and Perspectives through International Service-Learning (ISL): How U.S. University Agriculture Students Made Sense of their Lived Experiences Over Time

University agriculture students are failing in terms of their general global knowledge. As such, the need exists to examine instructional techniques that may assist in overcoming this deficiency. One such approach is international service-learning (ISL). The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to explore the lived experiences of university agriculture students who participated in an ISL opportunity to Uganda, which was partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State. The essence of participants’ lived experiences is best described as a transformative shift in their global knowledge and perspectives. The processes that foregrounded this shift are described through six themes of meaning: (a) contextual border crossing; (b) dissonance; (c) personalizing; (d) processing; (e) connecting; and (f) sustained relationships. Findings suggest students’ perspectives could be modified through ISL. Using Kiely’s (2005) transformative learning model for service-learning (TLMSL), recommendations are offered for research, theory-building, and practice

Development of Livelihood Skills through School-Based, Agripreneurship Projects Integrating Youth-Adult Partnerships: The Experiences of Youth Partners in Uganda

Equipping young people with livelihood skills is essential for positive youth development and empowerment as they transition into adulthood to become productive and engaged members of their communities. In Uganda, which may be the case in other nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere, even though many youth are becoming better educated and graduating from high schools and colleges, a majority of these graduates remain either unemployed or underemployed. Many have not acquired the necessary skills to transition from school to becoming employable and self-reliant. This phenomenon has been attributed to an outdated curriculum that does not meet the needs of contemporary times. Further, the mode of instruction in most of Uganda’s schools is teacher-centeredand provides little room for student engagement and creativity to generate new knowledge, to have authentic learning experiences, or to reflect. Such challenges may be overcome through student-centered learning approaches involving School-Based, Agripreneurship Projects (SAPs) that integrate Youth-Adult Partnerships (Y-APs), as were explored in this study. Evaluation of the students’ experiences through deductive and inductive thematic analysis indicated that they acquired knowledge in poultry science, business, agripreneurship, and life skills, including better communication, leadership, and conflict resolution practices. Longitudinal studies should be conducted to determine the long-term effectiveness and impact of SAPs facilitated by Y-APs on improving youth livelihoods, especially that prepare them with the life skills necessary to be productive citizens. Such research could involve cohort or panel investigation