| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to describe experiences National Association of Agricultural Educators Outstanding Young Member award winners would have liked to have had prior to becoming an agriculture teacher. A modified Delphi method was implemented to collect data utilizing three rounds of researcher-developed questionnaires. Round one included open-ended and demographic-type questions. Rounds two and three were constructed using panelists’ answers from previous rounds and included Likert-type, five-point rating scales. Items failing to reach consensus of agreement, established a priori, after round three were not included in the final compiled list of experiences. Data were analyzed for means, frequencies, and percentages.
The panel of experts included the Outstanding Young Member award winners (N = 29) from 2010-2014. Response rates for rounds one, two, and three were 79.3% (n = 23), 79.3% (n = 23), and 75.9% (n = 22) respectively. This study focused on three main questions: 1) Which aspects of teaching agriculture were the panelists most prepared for by their teacher preparation program? 2) Which aspects were they least prepared for? 3) What experiences would these panelists have liked to have had prior to becoming an agriculture teacher?
The major findings of this study revealed multiple aspects of teaching agriculture that panelists were adequately prepared for by their teacher preparation programs including teaching animal science, teaching FFA, classroom instruction, and developing curriculum, yet there were aspects that panelists agreed they were not prepared for including planning for retirement and work-life balance. Additionally, the panelists agreed upon multiple experiences they would have liked to have had prior to becoming an agriculture teacher. These included work-life balance, working with the community, time management strategies, and greenhouse operations.
The findings of this study may serve as suggestions for topics to be covered by teacher in-service workshops and throughout teacher preparation programs. Teacher preparation and in-service should focus on planning for retirement and work-life balance. Other additions to curriculum may include greenhouse operations and time management strategies. Finally, it is suggested that teacher preparation programs perform a needs assessment of their students to determine strengths and weaknesses for each program. | en |
