The Influence of the Agriculture Teacher on a Student’s Decision to TeachJustin Harris
How I Decided to Teach• High School
▫ Athletics▫ Friends▫ School▫ Agricultural Education
Program• First Year in College
▫ Not sure about career/major
▫ Engineering▫ Sports and friends still
high on the priority list▫ FFA Camp
Choice to Teach Agriculture•Wanted to make an impact on students•Respected agriculture teachers
▫Father▫Former Teacher▫Others
•Seems to fit who I am▫“Jack of all trades, master of none”▫Work hard, even without recognition/physical
reward•Enjoy being outdoors and doing physical things
Choosing a Thesis Topic•Something you are interested in•Something that can help your profession•Address an issue the profession is
experiencing
Teacher Recruitment and the Agriculture Teacher•Interested in WHY teachers decide to
teach•If done successfully, results could help
teachers and teacher educators recruit more teachers into the profession
•Addresses an issue Teacher Shortage
Started Research•Google Scholar: Teacher Recruitment in
Agricultural Education•Read some of what was out there•Found Park & Rudd’s “A Description of the
Characteristics Attributed to Students’ Decisions to Teach Agriscience”▫What do ag. teachers do to encourage/discourage
students to teach agriculture?▫Surveyed teachers ▫What do the students who recently made the
choice to teach agriculture say?
Where I am now• Decided on a topic• Committee• Articles and their
references▫ Roughly 40 useful
sources so far• Future Plans• What I am finding from
the literature…
Teacher Shortage In Agricultural Education•Has been a problem for more than 40
years (Kantrovich, 2007)•2001 – A committee of ag. teachers,
school board members, recruitment specialists, and business representatives declared that the #1 problem facing ag. ed. today was teacher shortage (Reese, 2001)
What is the problem?• Currently, teacher
education programs are producing enough graduates to fill vacancies, but only about 70% of these candidates actually go into teaching (Kantrovich, 2007).
What does this mean?• Unfilled positions could
lead to:▫ A struggling in the
program until the position is filled.
▫ The position being lost temporarily or forever.
▫ The loss of the entire program, likely forever.
• The bottom line is that students do not get to reap the benefits of the opportunities an agriculture teacher can bring to an agriculture program.
Solutions?• Two options:
1) Work to increase the percentage of students who actually pursue teaching careers, or
2) Work to increase the number of graduates so that the 70% that enter teaching may be sufficient to fill any voids caused by teachers retiring, getting out of the profession, etc.
Why is there a problem in the first place?• “You want to do what?!”• The decision to teach can
be a tough one.▫ Not highly paid▫ Hard work▫ Long hours▫ Paperwork▫ Discipline problems▫ Etc.
• So what motivates teachers to decide to teach?
Factors• The literature points to
several variables which influence the decision to teach:▫ Parental influence▫ Altruistic reasons
Make a difference Service
▫ Enjoy working with youth▫ Interest in the subject
matter▫ Influence of former
teacher!
Survey says…• Inspiration of former teachers is a factor for pre-
service teachers’ decisions to teach (Reid & Caudwell, 1997)
• 54% of college students majoring in education were influenced by a former teacher (Hayes, 1990).
• The most influential variable in their decisions to enter agricultural education was the agriculture teacher (Washburn et al., 2002).
• Others: Hillman, 1994; Lyons, 1981; Park & Rudd, 2005; Stiegelbauer, 1994; and more
Now What?•We know former
teachers can influence a student’s decision to teach, but HOW?
Park & Rudd, 2005Encouraging Practices Discouraging Practices• Offering a program rather
than just a class to take• Serving as a positive
example and role model• Encouraging student
involvement in FFA• Students enrolling in an ag.
ed. program• Exhibiting a positive
attitude about teaching agriculture
• Exhibiting confidence in student abilities
• Doing little to nothing in the FFA component
• Not giving students an opportunity to participate in FFA
• Having a program seen as a dumping ground
• Demonstrating constant complaining
• Complaining about students in program and administration
• Demonstrating negative attitudes
Theoretical Foundation• Social Cognitive Theory
▫ People learn through observing others (Bandura & Walters, 1963)
▫ Possible that imitation and modeling play a role in student’s decision to teach (Park & Rudd, 2005)
▫ Learning through observation not always formal. Often occurs without teacher knowing it is taking place (Bandura & Walters, 1963)
Procedures•Causal-comparative (Ex Post Facto)•Population: Still need to decide
▫All undergraduate students enrolled in agricultural education in NC
▫All undergraduate student enrolled in agricultural education at randomly selected universities offering agricultural education in the southeast
Instrumentation•Examine Park & Rudd’s instrument and
make modifications so it is applicable to prospective teachers
•Electronic Survey•Reviewed by panel of experts for validity•Field test the instrument for reliability
▫Cronbach’s Alpha•Hope to send out in Spring 2010•Non-responders
Questions or Comments?
Top Related