This study utilized a case study design to explore how early career agriculture teachers in Oregon conceptualize success and work-life balance in school-based agricultural education. Wenger's (1998) theory of Communities of Practice, precisely the concept of reification, served as the framework for our study. Our population included 52 agriculture teachers who attended an early career teacher workshop and participated in a seminar on work-life balance. Overall, participants grappled with several tensions regarding notions of success, work-life balance, and the interactions between the two. Findings concluded "success" has been reified to equate the number of awards won, active FFA members, or money earned and, one can be a successful agriculture teacher, a balanced agriculture teacher, but never both. As agriculture teachers strive for success and balance, they encounter emotions of guilt, judgment, fear, and pressure. While participants acknowledged the tensions that exist between notions of success and notions of balance, any progress on achieving such balance is done in vain as no examples of balanced agriculture teachers exist, and messages about success and work-life balance are paradoxical and unsubstantiated. While this study focused on one state, it provides valuable insight into how agriculture teachers are defining and thinking about success.

The relevance of experiential learning and opportunities a school farm can provide, along with the acknowledgment of potential barriers and the current deficit of research on school farms in Oregon make this study useful as a starting point in this line of exploration and in the preparation of teacher candidates. This study intended to gather descriptive data concerning school farms to gain a better understanding of the characteristics, uses, perceptions, and barriers to utilizing school farms as an experiential learning tool for students. Williams and McCarthy (1985) indicated utilizing school farms as a teaching-learning resource could benefit agricultural education programs, and Rose (2004) suggested we begin to reconsider how the school and workplace are connected. Approximately half of the agricultural education teachers in Oregon have access to a school farm. The primary facilities available on Oregon school farms were for equipment and tool storage and animal projects, with SAE and laboratory instruction being the main uses for students. Factors and barriers consist of the condition of the school farm, facilities, finances, and the ability of the teacher to oversee and to engage all students in the activity.

CTE has been identified as a critical need area and therefore retention of secondary CTE teachers is of great importance. This study explored turnover intentions and work-family conflict of CTE teachers in Oregon. Teachers reported higher work interference with family (WIF) than family interference with work (FIW), but also reported moderately low turnover intentions. FIW was significantly higher in male teachers than females. Teachers reported intentions for leaving: (a) to move to an administrative position, (b) for personal reasons such as health, (c) to change teaching subject areas, and (d) for a more desirable job opportunity. WIF was a significant predictor of turnover intentions among the CTE teachers. The implications are discussed and recommendations for research and practice are explored.

Alternative certification is often seen by policymakers and local school districts as the answer to the teacher shortage problem. Yet, little is known about the experiences of alternatively certified teachers in agricultural education. This case study sought to explore the experiences of alternatively certified agriculture teachers through a composite case study grounded in Dewey’s conception of experience. The participants for this study included four early career alternatively certified teachers in Wisconsin. Our findings illuminate insights regarding the fortuitous nature of alternatively certified teachers entering the classroom, the importance of their prior experiences, their passion for the content, the hurdles of becoming certified, and the significance of support. This is the first study of its kind in agricultural education to examine the first-hand accounts of alternatively certified teachers in an attempt to understand the benefits and challenges and the stepping stones leading to alternative certification. How are alternatively certified teachers becoming certified? What personal and professional experiences are they utilizing in the agricultural education classroom? It is critical that we do not disregard these teachers or their valuable experience, but instead seek to understand their background and certification process to ensure continued school-based agricultural education success.