The Influence of the Agriculture Teacher on a Student’s Decision to TeachJustin Harris

How I Decided to Teach• High School

▫ Athletics▫ Friends▫ School▫ Agricultural Education

Program• First Year in College

▫ Not sure about career/major

▫ Engineering▫ Sports and friends still

high on the priority list▫ FFA Camp

Choice to Teach Agriculture•Wanted to make an impact on students•Respected agriculture teachers

▫Father▫Former Teacher▫Others

•Seems to fit who I am▫“Jack of all trades, master of none”▫Work hard, even without recognition/physical

reward•Enjoy being outdoors and doing physical things

Choosing a Thesis Topic•Something you are interested in•Something that can help your profession•Address an issue the profession is

experiencing

Teacher Recruitment and the Agriculture Teacher•Interested in WHY teachers decide to

teach•If done successfully, results could help

teachers and teacher educators recruit more teachers into the profession

•Addresses an issue Teacher Shortage

Started Research•Google Scholar: Teacher Recruitment in

Agricultural Education•Read some of what was out there•Found Park & Rudd’s “A Description of the

Characteristics Attributed to Students’ Decisions to Teach Agriscience”▫What do ag. teachers do to encourage/discourage

students to teach agriculture?▫Surveyed teachers ▫What do the students who recently made the

choice to teach agriculture say?

Where I am now• Decided on a topic• Committee• Articles and their

references▫ Roughly 40 useful

sources so far• Future Plans• What I am finding from

the literature…

Teacher Shortage In Agricultural Education•Has been a problem for more than 40

years (Kantrovich, 2007)•2001 – A committee of ag. teachers,

school board members, recruitment specialists, and business representatives declared that the #1 problem facing ag. ed. today was teacher shortage (Reese, 2001)

What is the problem?• Currently, teacher

education programs are producing enough graduates to fill vacancies, but only about 70% of these candidates actually go into teaching (Kantrovich, 2007).

What does this mean?• Unfilled positions could

lead to:▫ A struggling in the

program until the position is filled.

▫ The position being lost temporarily or forever.

▫ The loss of the entire program, likely forever.

• The bottom line is that students do not get to reap the benefits of the opportunities an agriculture teacher can bring to an agriculture program.

Solutions?• Two options:

1) Work to increase the percentage of students who actually pursue teaching careers, or

2) Work to increase the number of graduates so that the 70% that enter teaching may be sufficient to fill any voids caused by teachers retiring, getting out of the profession, etc.

Why is there a problem in the first place?• “You want to do what?!”• The decision to teach can

be a tough one.▫ Not highly paid▫ Hard work▫ Long hours▫ Paperwork▫ Discipline problems▫ Etc.

• So what motivates teachers to decide to teach?

Factors• The literature points to

several variables which influence the decision to teach:▫ Parental influence▫ Altruistic reasons

Make a difference Service

▫ Enjoy working with youth▫ Interest in the subject

matter▫ Influence of former

teacher!

Survey says…• Inspiration of former teachers is a factor for pre-

service teachers’ decisions to teach (Reid & Caudwell, 1997)

• 54% of college students majoring in education were influenced by a former teacher (Hayes, 1990).

• The most influential variable in their decisions to enter agricultural education was the agriculture teacher (Washburn et al., 2002).

• Others: Hillman, 1994; Lyons, 1981; Park & Rudd, 2005; Stiegelbauer, 1994; and more

Now What?•We know former

teachers can influence a student’s decision to teach, but HOW?

Park & Rudd, 2005Encouraging Practices Discouraging Practices• Offering a program rather

than just a class to take• Serving as a positive

example and role model• Encouraging student

involvement in FFA• Students enrolling in an ag.

ed. program• Exhibiting a positive

attitude about teaching agriculture

• Exhibiting confidence in student abilities

• Doing little to nothing in the FFA component

• Not giving students an opportunity to participate in FFA

• Having a program seen as a dumping ground

• Demonstrating constant complaining

• Complaining about students in program and administration

• Demonstrating negative attitudes

Theoretical Foundation• Social Cognitive Theory

▫ People learn through observing others (Bandura & Walters, 1963)

▫ Possible that imitation and modeling play a role in student’s decision to teach (Park & Rudd, 2005)

▫ Learning through observation not always formal. Often occurs without teacher knowing it is taking place (Bandura & Walters, 1963)

Procedures•Causal-comparative (Ex Post Facto)•Population: Still need to decide

▫All undergraduate students enrolled in agricultural education in NC

▫All undergraduate student enrolled in agricultural education at randomly selected universities offering agricultural education in the southeast

Instrumentation•Examine Park & Rudd’s instrument and

make modifications so it is applicable to prospective teachers

•Electronic Survey•Reviewed by panel of experts for validity•Field test the instrument for reliability

▫Cronbach’s Alpha•Hope to send out in Spring 2010•Non-responders

Questions or Comments?