Exploring the Role of Agriculture Teachers in Core Academic Integration

Abstract

Core academic skills are essential for success in our society. However, an abundance of research has identified a large proportion of secondary school students are underperforming in core academic areas such as literacy and math. Researchers have suggested integrating core academic content throughout all secondary coursework as a potential solution to students' underperformance in core academics. This study focused on core academic integration in secondary agricultural education classrooms and explored a conceptual model for teachers' core academic integration competence in the areas of math and literacy. Results indicated pedagogical competence and technical knowledge were significant predictors of teachers' reading integration competence. Pedagogical competence was also a significant predictor of respondents' writing and math integration competences. These findings highlight the importance of agriculture teachers' ability to engage students through effective pedagogical strategies as a potential precursor to competence integrating reading, writing, and math. Implications and strategies for utilizing the proposed model and the findings from this research are discussed.

Identifying Challenges Pre-service Teachers Encountered When Teaching Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) Coursework during Student Teaching

“…The CASE courses could prove valuable to developing high-quality SBAE programs that will help to fulfill a broader mission of effectiveness of programming (Thoron et al, 2016). As the need for academically-robust SBAE programs becomes greater and for SBAE teachers to heed these calls (McKim et al, 2016), SBAE stakeholders must be prepared to practice and implement habits that make them effective (Roberts & Dyer, 2004). Pre-service teachers see that there is value in enhancing the academic rigor of SBAE (Haynes et al, 2014).…”

“…within their curricula. Moreover, as pushes for the contextual teaching of academic content through SBAE coursework have occurred in recent decades, SBAE teachers have been expected to respond appropriately and proactively (McKim, Sorensen, & Velez, 2016). As noted by Ulmer et al (2013), school administrators appear to hold value toward contextually teaching academic content through SBAE coursework.…”

Interdisciplinary Learning Opportunities in Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources, and Science: The Role of the Teacher

“…SBAE can serve as a valuable platform for student co-construction of AFNR and science knowledge (Balschweid, 2002;Conroy & Walker, 2000;Enderlin & Osborne, 1992;Enderlin et al, 1993;Roegge & Russell, 1990;Wilson & Curry Jr., 2011). However, the positive benefits of interdisciplinary learning within SBAE can only be realized if teachers are able and willing to teach science within AFNR curriculum (McKim, 2016;McKim et al, 2016). In the current study, the role of the teacher in incorporating science within AFNR was explored using the theory of planned behavior.…”

“…School-based agricultural education (SBAE) provides an invaluable context to facilitate interdisciplinary learning of AFNR and science (Balschweid, 2002;Conroy & Walker, 2000;Enderlin & Osborne, 1992;Enderlin, Petrea, & Osborne, 1993;McKim, Velez, Lambert, & Balschweid, 2017;Roegge & Russell, 1990;Wilson & Curry Jr., 2011). However, facilitating interdisciplinary learning spaces within SBAE relies on the teacher teaching science content and practices within their curricula (McKim, 2016;McKim, Sorensen, & Velez, 2016). SBAE research has failed to provide a comprehensive, empirical model detailing the role of the teacher in facilitating interdisciplinary science and AFNR learning.…”

School-based Agricultural Education Teachers’ Experiences During a Year-long Field Test of the CASE Mechanical Systems in Agriculture (MSA) Curriculum

“…Effective SBAE teachers are knowledgeable in agricultural subject matter (Eck et al, 2019) and proactively, contextually teach academic concepts throughout their curricula (Roberts & Dyer, 2004). As greater calls for academic content application in the context of SBAE have been sounded, expectations have increased for teachers to respond (McKim et al, 2016). Robinson et al (2018) posited about SBAE teachers' potential for effectively and robustly teaching academic content, opining " [SBAE] teachers can lead the charge on STEM education, honing the innovative techniques and providing exemplars for best practices in the field of STEM education" (p. 263).…”