Supervised Agricultural Experience: An Examination of Student Knowledge and Participation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate student Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) knowledge and participation. This descriptive study was conducted in 120 randomly selected agricultural education programs throughout four purposively selected states representative of the National FFA regions. Students completed a questionnaire assessing knowledge of the five SAE categories. According to findings of this study, 46.1% of the students surveyed reported having a SAE program (n = 473). Students on average could only correctly categorize between three and four of the five SAE project scenarios and approximately one-third of the students surveyed in Indiana, Missouri, and Utah could categorize all five. Students appeared to be able to correctly identify the improvement, research and experimentation, and placement SAE categories more frequently. Those surveyed without a SAE program were either not familiar or somewhat familiar with the five SAE categories. The average number of classroom days spent on SAE instruction since enrolled in agricultural education courses varied from nine to 34 and half of the students in three of the states did not receive a grade for their SAE program or record book in agricultural education courses. Students surveyed did not believe they needed more classroom instruction from their teacher about SAEs.

Millenial and Non-millenial Agriculture Teachers' Current and Ideal Emphasis on the Three Components of the Agricultural Education Program

“…Findings indicated a majority of respondents did not lead programs aligning with their ideal programs, reducing the likelihood that teachers lead SAE Light programs due to a lack of perceived value in SAE. Other studies have reported the value teachers hold in SAE programs (Lewis et al, 2012), further supporting the notion that teachers want to emphasize SAEs, but have not been successful in doing so. This disparity between current and ideal program was found both within and outside of the millennial generation.…”

“…Researchers have documented a decline in students' and teachers' development and maintenance of SAEs over the past 30 years (Barrick, Hughes, & Baker, 1991;Dyer & Osborne, 1995;Dyer & Williams, 1997;Retallick & Martin, 2008;Rubenstein & Thoron, 2014). Despite the decline in participation, research has consistently reported the benefits of SAEs on knowledge acquisition (Arrington & Cheek, 1990;Pals, 1988;Ramsey, 2009;Williams, 1979) and on teachers' high value of SAEs (Lewis, Rayfield, & Moore, 2012;Robinson & Haynes, 2011).…”

“…Teachers of agricultural education have been encouraged to adhere to the three-component model in their preservice and inservice programs by educators (Phipps et al, 2008), legislation (Smith- Hughes Act, 1917), and established tradition (Croom, 2008). While Phipps et al (2008) stated teachers should adjust the emphasis on each of these three components as industry practices, educational priorities, and student needs evolve, the model is typically represented within teacher preparation programs by three circles of equal size (Croom, 2008;Lewis et al, 2012;Talbert et al, 2007;National FFA Organization, 2015), implying equal emphasis on each component in the model program. However, Torres, Ulmer, and Aschenbrener (2008) found teachers divvied their work hours unevenly between the three components; their study reported 69% of teachers' work hours were devoted to classroom instruction, 23% were devoted to FFA, and 3% were devoted to SAE.…”

The Motivational Changes Pre-Service Agricultural Education Teachers Endure while Facilitating Quality Supervised Agricultural Experiences: A Six-Week Project-Based Learning Experience

“…Therefore, a decline in student participation in SAEs at the secondary level exists (Croom, 2008). Although the reasons for the decline are largely unknown (Bird, Martin, & Simonsen, 2013), it could be due to teachers' lack of knowledge of and experience in SAEs (Lewis, Rayfield, & Moore, 2012).…”

The Influence of Agriscience Research SAEs on Perceived Self-Efficacy of 21st Century Skill Attainment

“…In the early 1990's, over 85% of agricultural education students in Iowa conducted SAEs, by 2005, that number dropped to only 56% (Retallick & Martin, 2008). More recently, an average of 46% of students surveyed in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and Utah reported conducting an SAE (Lewis, Rayfield, & Moore, 2012). Although participation has declined, agricultural educators across the country agree that SAE is and should remain an integral component of school-based agricultural education (Camp et al, 2000;Wilson & Moore, 2007) due to a myriad of beneficial outcomes for students.…”