A History of Professional Associations for Teacher Educators in Agriculture: 1929 to Present

Abstract

The history of professional organizations for teacher educators in agriculture is long and diverse. As formal vocational agriculture programs were established in the early 1900s it became evident that there was a need for professionally trained vocational agriculture teachers. This demand for agriculture teachers resulted in the new profession of teacher trainers, which evolved into teacher educators in agriculture in departments of agricultural education in land-grant universities across the country. The professional organizations started as informal social gatherings to discuss critical issues facing agricultural education in the 1920s. As the century progressed, so did the teacher education profession and the corresponding organizations. The organizations expanded their scope to include formal administrative structures, scholarly conferences, refereed research journals, professional development activities, research conferences, and innovative poster presentations. Throughout their history, the professional organizations for teachers reached out to collaborate with other professional organizations in the areas of education, vocational education, teacher education, and scientific agriculture. This historical research study presents a synopsis of the 92-year history of professional organizations for teacher educators in agriculture.