Over the years agricultural education has not done an adequate job of effectively defining or describing its meaning and purpose. As with the broad agricultural industry, the view of agricultural education varies between and among groups, within and outside of the profession, and has evolved according to global, regional, and local pressures including those originating from political, societal, and technological changes (National Research Council, 1988

Since the 1988 publication of Understanding Agriculture: New Directions for Education by the National Research Council, agricultural educators have experienced increased pressure to incorporate more science-based instruction. Recent research has examined where and how integration is occurring (Conroy, 2000; Johnson, 1996; Thompson, 1998). This qualitative study looks at the perceptions of agricultural educators and others regarding this shift in focus of instruction, and what implications exist for teacher education programs as a result of the shift. Results show unanimous support for more sciencebased instruction, but little agreement on how much, or how best, to integrate. Concerns also exist as to methodologies employed for science-based instruction in the agricultural classroom, and how those concerns can be met by changes in teacher education programs.

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