Agricultural mechanics is a top career choice among secondary students enrolled in agricultural programs. Secondary agricultural mechanics teachers provide hands-on skill instruction with shielded metal arc welders, oxyfuel torches, and various hand tools in their agricultural mechanics laboratories. Preservice agriculture teachers have reported lack of preparation to adequately teach in this potentially dangerous environment. This qualitative case study explored the concerns of preservice teachers about teaching secondary students in the agricultural mechanics laboratory and how those concerns evolved over time. Researchers used a constructivist epistemology and open coding to identify and explore emergent themes. Three themes emerged from the data: 1) issues of trust and control in supervising laboratory students manifest themselves as a professional threat, 2) mechanics skill and supervisory skill development coincided with a change in focus toward student safety and learning, and 3) the agricultural mechanics laboratory provides unique instructional challenges and opportunities. Although each preservice teacher differed in their development, the authors identified persistent issues with agricultural mechanics skill knowledge and student trust.

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The attrition rate for novice teachers can range between 20%-50% in the first five years. This problem has concerned researchers in school-based agricultural education because of the shortage of agriculture teachers and high demands of the job. Researchers narrowed down the reasons why teachers leave the profession including the role of self-efficacy. While self-efficacy of novice teachers in the classroom has been researched, general self-efficacy of novice teachers has not been examined. We investigated the influence of moving into a new community and adjusting to the new culture and social connections of the new community on the teacher's self-efficacy. The purpose was to determine if culture shock and social connectedness explained general self-efficacy of novice agriculture teachers. It was concluded that the construct of core beliefs and how people react internally to their community within the culture shock theory significantly explained a proportion of the variance in general self-efficacy. The findings implied that the culture distance experienced by a novice teacher in a new community could affect their general well-being and ability to accomplish their goals.

Agricultural mechanics instruction includes a broad array of machinery, structures, and technical systems, as well as a diverse workforce. Virtually every aspect of agriculture has a mechanics component and a large portion of secondary agriscience curriculum is devoted specifically to teaching agricultural mechanics. Further, the agricultural mechanics laboratory provides students with an opportunity to learn through authentic learning scenarios. The purpose of this research is to investigate Missouri high school agricultural mechanics students' safety knowledge and safety attitudes. Researchers identified an increase in female students enrolling in agricultural mechanics coursework. This study also concludes students perceive they receive minimal training, access, and/or use of hearing and air quality PPE. It was concluded the factors of age, gender, semesters of agricultural mechanics courses, and agricultural education district have limited ability to explain differences in in student's PPE knowledge or PPE comfort. Moreover, researchers identified implications of changing demographics on PPE design and usability, both in the laboratory and the workplace. Future research should be conducted regarding PPE design, transfer of perceptions, and what PPE is needed by both teachers and students.

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