Search

Agricultural education is responsible for preparing future generations to advance agriculture in a rapidly changing world. How can agricultural education best prepare students to be innovative problem-solvers who can keep up with these changes? Perhaps educators can create learning experiences that allow students to uncover material through their own questioning and experimentation using inquiry-based learning (IBL). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects personal agricultural educators' beliefs about agricultural education, self-efficacy, and context have on adopting IBL. Agricultural educators' adoption of IBL was significantly affected by degree obtained and the agricultural pathway in which they taught. A positive relationship was demonstrated between both IBL adoption and the orientation to teach substantive and procedural knowledge, with the higher correlation between procedural knowledge and the adoption of IBL. A positive relationship existed between agricultural educators' perceived ability to implement IBL and the perceived abilities of their students to complete IBL activities. More than 26 percent of the variance in the adoption of IBL among agricultural educators was explained by variables in the structural equation model of this study. Adoption of IBL by agricultural educators needs further research. However, this study indicates beliefs about education, self, and context do affect the adoption of IBL by agricultural educators. Agricultural educators with higher self-efficacy in creating IBL lessons and greater orientation toward teaching procedural knowledge are more likely to adopt IBL in their classrooms. Programming should be developed that impacts beliefs in a way to encourage adoption of IBL.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a time management seminar on stress and job satisfaction of beginning agriscience teachers. The target population for this study consisted of agriscience teachers in the first or second year of tenure. All twenty-three (N = 23) beginning teachers from a selected region of the state participated in the study. There was a 100% response. Eleven participated in the time management seminar (n = 11) and 12 participated in the control group (n = 12). The study employed a quasi-experimental, static-group comparison design. The treatment, a comprehensive time management seminar, included: planning and scheduling, goal setting, and work and family balance. A post-test, including instrumentation for stress and job satisfaction, was administered to both groups. Independent samples t-tests revealed there were not any statistically significant differences between groups on stress levels or job satisfaction levels. However, sub-scale constructs from each instrument resulted in medium to large effect sizes in several sub-scale factors. Stress differences included work-related stress, time management, and professional investment. Job satisfaction differences included pay, recognition and advancement. Overall, the beginning teachers had slight to moderate stress. Additionally, the teachers had slightly above neutral levels of job satisfaction.

The incorporation of hot and cold food bars into grocery stores in an effort to capture a portion of the home meal replacement industry is presenting new challenges for retail food establishments. To ensure retail success and customer safety, employees need to be educated in food safety practices. Traditional methods of training are not meeting the needs of the retail food industry. Although many food safety training programs exist, few meet the educational needs of hot and cold food bar employees. In an effort to determine the effectiveness of traditional training methods for employees, a quasi-experimental study was performed. Data was collected from three separate chains within the retail food industry from six geographical locations. The pre-post assessment study utilized an interventional training and included collecting questionnaires from 300 employees. Findings of the study described characteristics of employees within each chain individually and collectively. Food safety knowledge was assessed by comparing pre-training and post-training assessments for managerial and non-managerial employees. The most important finding for this study was determining the change in essential food safety knowledge of employees after traditional food safety training was conducted for managerial employees within the treatment stores and comparing that change to the change that occurred in the control groups.

Random samples of agriscience teachers completed surveys via electronic mail (26 of 95), the Web (41 of 95), and paper (57 of 95). Paper yielded a 60% response, Web 43%, and e-mail 27%, with significant differences in time to respond. Age and teaching experience did not affect response rate. The e-mail survey may have been affected by formatting problems. (Contains 15 references.) (SK)

Agriculture is a vital part of the Australian economy. With an industry poised for growth, and a growing disconnect between consumers and agriculture, additional communication efforts are needed. The purpose of this study was to complete a curriculum visioning process to inform agricultural communications curriculum development in Australia. This study used a qualitative research design consisting of face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with individuals from 14 agricultural organizations and two universities. The results indicated the industry is addressing many challenges, but also has opportunities that would benefit from strategic communication efforts. Participants provided suggestions regarding the specific communication skills and agriculture knowledge future employees should possess. Recognizing these competencies informed the curriculum visioning process for agricultural communications as an academic discipline within Australian higher education. Recommendations for both practice and future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]