Investigating the Impact of Pre-Professional Organization Participation on Undergraduate Technology and Engineering Education Student Retention and Interest in Teaching

The field of Technology and Engineering Education (TEE) has evolved in name and content throughout its existence. Throughout these evolutions, the number of TEE programs across the United States have decreased along with a decrease in the number of students graduating from undergraduate TEE programs. Previous investigations into the recruitment of TEE students have identified social interactions with TEE program faculty and technology and engineering educators as influential in students\u27 interest in teaching technology and engineering at the secondary level. This study sought to investigate how social interactions through participation in Technology and Engineering Educators Association (TEECA), as a community of practice, may influence undergraduate students\u27 interest in teaching and intent to complete their undergraduate TEE program. A Spearman\u27s rho correlation was used to investigate what relationship, if any, existed between TEECA participation and undergraduate students\u27 interest in teaching TEE and intent to complete their TEE degree. Additionally, a moderation analysis was performed to investigate whether undergraduate students\u27 beliefs about the social contribution of educators as well as the undergraduate students\u27 perceived abilities within the TEE content area have a moderating effect on the relationship between TEECA participation and undergraduate students\u27 interest in teaching and intent to complete their undergraduate program. The study utilized a multiple method approach to further investigate additional aspects of participating in pre-professional communities of practice that undergraduate students recognize as influential in their intentions for their future studies and career. Lastly, this investigation also sought to identify the contextual factors that influence current and potential TEECA members\u27 perception and understanding of the TEE profession through a review of published data and responses from TEE program leaders from varying universities. Findings revealed no statistically significant relationship between TEECA participation and undergraduate students\u27 interest in teaching and their intent to complete their undergraduate degree. Additionally, no statistical significance was found on the moderating impact of students\u27 beliefs on the relationship between TEECA participation and undergraduate students\u27 interest in teaching as well as their intent to complete their undergraduate degree. Qualitative data collection and analysis revealed that students recognized TEECA participation as influential in helping them to develop skills and experiences in additional content within TEE. Student responses also indicated a struggle in finding undergraduate TEE programs. Finally, this investigation showed inconsistency in defining and counting university TEE programs across the United States of America. This inconsistency may contribute to the obstacles students may experience in finding and enrolling in TEE programs

Influence of Pre-professional Organizations on TEE Students

Since the 1970’s, there has been a notable decrease in the number of Technology and Engineering Education (TEE) teacher preparation programs, as well as TEE teacher preparation program graduates within the United States. Previous studies have investigated reasons that post-secondary students pursue a TEE degree. However, no research is currently available regarding factors influencing student retention in TEE teacher education programs as well as factors that influence whether TEE preservice teachers enter the education field. Using the expectancy-value theory, this study investigates the relationship of participation of communities of practice in a student’s intention to graduate from the program and enter the teaching field following graduation. This is the first step to a cross-sectional study looking at the influence of exposure to and participation in the Technology and Engineering Educators Collegiate Association on TEE teacher preparation program students. Participation in TEECA was measured ordinally with varying levels of participation depending on a student’s activity level in student chapter meetings, conference attendance, and event participation

Evaluating the Utah Agriculture in the Classroom Preservice Teacher Seminar

Utah Agriculture in the Classroom hosts preservice teacher seminars in partnership with five universities across the state. From 2017-2021, approximately 600 college students participated in these seminars. The preservice seminars provided agriculture-themed lessons aligned to state educational standards for future teachers to use as they build resources for their classrooms

Mentoring on Early-Career Technology and Engineering Teachers

Many researchers in the field of technology and engineering education (TEE) have identified the shortage of TEE teachers as an existential crisis within the discipline. A major component of this crisis is the retention of early-career TEE teachers. This study sought to investigate the impact of current practices and impacts of mentoring on early-career TEE teachers’ sense of belonging, job satisfaction, and expectations to remain in the teaching profession. Data were collected from early-career technology and engineering teachers via an online survey distributed across the United States of America through the Association for Career and Technical Education, the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, and state-level CTE directors. Data were analysed regarding the types of mentoring available to early-career TEE teachers, its effectiveness, and the relationship between mentoring and sense of belonging, job satisfaction, and teachers’ intentions to remain in the profession