Does Prior Experience in Secondary Agricultural Mechanics Affect Pre-service Agricultural Education Teachers' Intentions to Enroll in Post-secondary Agricultural Mechanics Coursework?

Abstract

Agricultural mechanics coursework has historically been considered an important and necessary construct of the secondary agricultural education curriculum (Burris, Robinson, & Terry, 2005). With expectations of offering secondary agricultural mechanics coursework apparent, it is vital that agricultural education teachers be prepared to address these curriculum needs. Recent evidence (Burris, McLaughlin, McCulloch, Brashears, & Fraze, 2010) indicated that many agricultural education teachers (particularly early-career teachers) felt less comfortable teaching agricultural mechanics than other agricultural content areas. Hubert and Leising (2000) indicated, on average, potential agriculture education teachers are only required to enroll in two (2) three-credit hour courses to meet certification requirements. The purpose of this study was to describe potential relationships between the quantity of agricultural mechanics training and skills received at the secondary and at the post-secondary levels. Correlations were calculated to determine the magnitude of these relationships. Statistically significant, positive correlations were found in each of the skill areas. The researchers recommend that agricultural mechanics coursework be increased and enhanced at teacher preparation institutions. Also, the modernization of secondary and post-secondary agricultural mechanics facilities and curricula to reflect increases in available technologies should be considered as a method to enhance students' interests in the content area.

Teacher-perceived Adequacy of Tools and Equipment Available to Teach Agricultural Mechanics

“…Without the availability of adequate tools and equipment to teach agricultural mechanics concepts, teachers may feel less efficacious in the content area. Due to this, a loss of confidence in teaching the subject matter may occur, possibly influencing teachers to reduce or ignore instruction in agricultural mechanics, thereby inhibiting students' exposure to this popular curriculum area (Wells et al, 2013). Interestingly, this potential chain of events could be the simple result of lacking the tools and equipment necessary to successfully teach in the content area.…”

“…Predictably, the pursuit of tools and equipment necessary to teach that content will be minimized when compared to content in which a teacher's self-efficacy, interest, desire, or ability to teach are high. However, as Wells et al (2013) illustrated, instructional choices can hold implications for future teachers as well, especially when considering the possibility that the forthcoming generation of teachers may draw their content choices upon personal and professional interests and past experiences in SBAE.…”

“…We operationalized this concept as the ability to adequately and properly teach agricultural mechanics in a secondary education environment, perhaps the most hands-on content area within SBAE (Phipps et al, 2008;Wells et al, 2013). Bandura (1997) further stated that personal influence on self-efficacy can stem from environmental factors (i.e., tools and equipment available for use in an agricultural mechanics laboratory).…”

Identifying the Agricultural Mechanics Knowledge and Skills Needed by Iowa School-based Agricultural Education Teachers

“…Laboratories can be useful contexts through which experiential learning processes can take place (Shoulders, Blythe, & Myers, 2013). As a prominent laboratory environment commonly found within many SBAE programs (Phipps et al, 2008;Shoulders & Myers, 2012;Talbert et al, 2014), agricultural mechanics laboratories, as well as aligned instructional practices, can serve as a context through which to apply academic content (Parr, Edwards, & Leising, 2006, 2008Young, Edwards, & Leising, 2009), to practice problem-solving skills (Blackburn & Robinson, 2016;Pate & Miller, 2011), to develop and facilitate projects that can have considerable economic impacts over time (Hanagriff, Rayfield, Briers, & Murphy, 2014), and to provide opportunities for students to develop and hone a wide range of skills (Phipps et al, 2008;Wells, Perry, Anderson, Shultz, & Paulsen, 2013).…”

“…Beyond solely the laboratory environment, agricultural mechanics as a content area is broad and diverse, encompassing woodworking, metalworking, welding, power mechanics, electricity, building construction, biofuels, alternative energies, applied mathematics, and more (Burris, Robinson, & Terry, 2005;McCubbins, Anderson, Paulsen, & Wells, 2016;McCubbins, Wells, Anderson, & Paulsen, 2017;Wells et al, 2013;Young et al, 2009). This breadth of content, in turn, dictates that teachers should be flexible and well-prepared to deliver a wide range of learning experiences related to agricultural mechanics (McCubbins et al, 2017).…”