The shortage and demand for teachers have been well publicized. This study investigated the extent to which the level of job satisfaction of Missouri secondary agriculture teachers changed from their initial year of teaching to their current employment, either in teaching or industry. A comparison between the job satisfaction of teachers who remained in the profession with those who changed school districts and those who left the profession was conducted. Additionally, the likes and dislikes of the specific responsibilities of a secondary agriculture teacher were investigated. It was concluded that all three groups of teachers were generally satisfied with their first year of teaching. They were also generally satisfied with their current employment position and had relatively the same degree of job satisfaction increase over time from their first teaching position to their current position. Teachers who left the profession were generally as satisfied as those who remained in the profession with regard to the job responsibilities of an agriculture teacher, with the exception of teaching agricultural mechanics and in working with school administrators. The results implied that teachers leaving the profession were relatively satisfied but were leaving the profession for opportunities/job satisfaction aspects that they could not receive through teaching.

Understanding job satisfaction, stress, and burnout within agricultural education has the potential to impact the profession's future. Studying these factors through the theoretical lens of social comparison takes a cultural approach by investigating how agriculture teachers interact with and compare themselves to others. The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships existed between social comparison and job satisfaction and/or burnout among secondary agriculture teachers representing six states. Findings indicated that teachers were satisfied with their jobs and tended to engage most frequently in upward assimilative (UA) comparisons, leading to inspiration emotional outcomes. According to the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators (MBI-E), teachers experienced low levels of burnout related to personal accomplishment (PA) and depersonalization (DE), and moderate levels related to emotional exhaustion (EE). Seven moderate relationships were found between dimensions of social comparison and either burnout and/or job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between undergraduate student course engagement and several independent variables. Total participants included 300 (N) undergraduate students. Students completed three instruments measuring course engagement, teacher verbal immediacy, and teacher nonverbal immediacy. It was concluded that class size and teacher verbalimmediacy significantly predicted student course engagement. Classes under 30 students significantly influenced factors of engagement. The unique influence of immediacy behaviors supported the researchers' assertions coupled with previous research

This study explored first and second year agriculture teachers' job satisfaction and teacher selfefficacy through their perceived levels of school culture support. Prior research indicated one possible contributor to poor teacher retention is a lack of belonging teachers feel to their schools. Data were collected from beginning teachers in three states and stepwise multiple regression techniques were used to analyze the data. The researchers found that colleague support was statistically significant contributors to beginning teachers' efficacy. District and school administration, colleague, and financial supports were all statistically significant contributors to teachers' job satisfaction. These findings provide support for further research to explore gaps in the profession's understanding of the role school culture plays for agriculture teachers. Recommendations include incorporating positive relationship-building techniques into pre-service and teacher induction programs and making beginning teachers aware of materials used in promoting agricultural education programs and building administrative relationships.

The goal for this research synthesis was to introduce the concept of resilience to agricultural education and determine if further research is warranted on resilience and positive psychology as they relate to the agricultural educator. The current environment of public schools coupled with the ever-burgeoning responsibilities placed upon the shoulders of educators makes resilience an increasingly vital characteristic to the classroom teacher. Teachers who are resilient are able to persevere through adversity and overcome stress to find success. The study of resilience has a theoretical base in positive psychology (Snyder & Lopez, 2009). Effective coping behaviors used to manage daily stress are essential to teacher retention and job satisfaction for teachers (Carmona, Buunk, Peiro, Rodriguez, & Bravo, 2006). Based on this synthesis of research, a conceptual framework visualizing the relationship between teacher resilience and agricultural educator stress and burnout was developed as well as a list of recommendations for further research.