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A study was conducted to determine the relationship of curriculum, gender, and location of residence to career maturity of high school students. Two schools (one urban, one rural) in central Ohio provided 320 participating students. A stratified random sampling techique was then used to select equal numbers of 10th and 12th grade vocational-male, vocational-female, college preparatory-male, college preparatory-female students from each of the rural and urban schools. Data were collected in the classrooms using the Career Development Inventory (CDI) and a demographic data questionnaire. Grade point averages and test scores were provided by the schools. Among the findings were the following: (1) college preparatory students were higher in career maturity than vocational students at both the 10th- and 12th-grade levels; (2) female students were higher than male students in career maturity at both the 10th- and 12th-grade levels; (3) no significant difference in career maturity was found between rural and urban students; and (4) scholastic achievement was significantly related to career maturity. (34 references) (CML)

The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of vocational horticulture students, parents, horticultural industrial employers, and school administrators concerning the value of extended service contracts (summer programs) in horticulture. Twenty schools were randomly selected from the 66 Ohio secondary schools having vocational horticultural programs, and students were given questionnaires. From these questionnaires, five were selected from each school; five parents and five employers of students received questionnaires; all the teachers and administrators at each of the schools received questionnaires as well. Of the numerous results obtained from the analysis, the most significant were the following: (1) parents, vocational horticultural students, and employers all responded that the summer program is an important part of the vocational horticultural program; (2) all four groups perceived of teachers as engaging in activities of supervising students' summer employment, advising summer Future Farmers of America activities, working with horticultural industrial employers, contacting community leaders, and updating and repairing school equipment; (3) students did not respond as strongly as parents and employers that knowledge and experience obtained during the summer were not obtainable during the school year; (4) frequency of teacher visits to job sites were viewed differently by students and employers, possibly because teachers paid more attention to employers than to students; and (5) all groups responded that the extended service contract should be continued even if federal/state monies are withdrawn. Recommendations were made to increase knowledge of the summer program and to open lines of communication among the groups involved. (KC)

To determine the reasons why graduates of agricultural education do not enter the profession, or chose to leave it after a period of time, a mailed questionnaire survey was conducted on agricultural education graduates from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 1968-73. Twenty-four non-teaching graduates were identified and surveyed and 17 responses were gained (71 percent). Personal, educational, and work-related data are tabulated and an analysis of the results is also presented. A wide variety of reasons are given for not entering the profession. The predominant factors were: to secure more personal freedom, to secure a higher salary, to improve their family situation, and to get away from too much red tape. The writer suggests that the report provides important input for teacher educators and those associated with the preparation of teachers of agricultural education in the technical agricultural subject areas. Selected references are given. The questionnaire and letters used in the survey are appended. (Author/EC)

A study sought to determine what factors influenced Ohio Cooperative Extension Service county agents to leave their jobs (particularly the factor of job performance level) as measured by supervisory rating and self-rating techniques. Additionally, the study sought to determine relationships between variables and to determine the levels of those variables as they existed in the population being studied. All 244 Ohio Cooperative Extension Service county agents under contract March 1, 1985, were surveyed via a mailed questionnaire, with additional data supplied through an investigation of their personnel files. A variety of relationships among factors were found. Overall, the study concluded that Ohio Cooperative Extension Service county agents generally had low intentions of leaving their present jobs. They experienced moderate amounts of overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with supervision and the work itself, high satisfaction with co-workers, and fairly low amounts of satisfaction with promotion and pay. They perceived themselves to be high performers, and their supervisors generally agreed. Agents tended to reward themselves intrinsically for good performance, but they did not see that the rewards given them by the organization were necessarily contingent upon their performance level. Lower performers had higher intentions of leaving the job than did higher performers, and the self-rating of job performance was more closely associated with intention to leave the job than was supervisor rating of job performance. Other predictors of intention to leave the job were overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with co-workers, and age. Recommendations were made for improving job satisfaction through feedback, promotion policies, creating cooperative teams of co-workers, and other methods. (KC)

In light of recent suggestions that the quality of teachers is declining, a study attempted to determine if the academic ability of agricultural education graduates was significantly different from the academic ability of other agriculture, education, and university graduates. The study included four populations of Ohio State University graduates receiving four-year degrees between 1978 and 1983. Samples were taken of 105 agricultural education graduates, 160 agriculture graduates, 155 education majors, and 1,494 other bachelor's degree graduates. Data on the graduates were gathered from university records. Some of the results and conclusions of the study were as follows: (1) this study did not support the hypothesis suggested by other studies that agriculture education graduates ranked lower academically than other graduates; (2) agricultural education graduates earned scores on the English, mathematics, and composite portions of college entrance tests that were not significantly different from secondary education graduates; and (3) neither the high school percentile rank nor the high school grade point average earned by agricultural education graduates was significantly different from that earned by secondary education graduates, although the secondary education graduates did have higher scores in the humanities, social sciences, and specific content-area courses. The data clearly indicate that agricultural education graduates are as academically inclined as other education and university graduates. The study suggested that the lower esteem in which some professors hold agricultural education graduates implies an image problem that should be the concern of agricultural educators. (KC)

A study was conducted to determine the demographic characteristics of Swaziland agricultural education professionals and their perceptions of the preservice teacher education program in agriculture in their country. Questionnaires were developed and mailed to 128 Swaziland agricultural education professionals, with a total of 116 usable questionnaires returned. The study found that most agriculture professionals in the country were males, had diploma (associate degree) qualifications, were relatively young, had relatively few years of teaching experience, and had not studied agriculture in high school. These professionals thought that present programs of agriculture should be maintained but that admittance procedures should be strengthened, student teaching should be improved, inservice education courses should be implemented, and more teachers should have high school teaching experience. Recommendations for program improvement were made based on the findings of the study. (KC)

A study was conducted to explore why students in Ohio enter three selected taxonomy areas of vocational agriculture and to describe their attributes and vocational objectives. From a sample of 180 11th- and 12-th grade students, the study gathered data about vocational objectives and factors that motivated students to enroll in agricultural mechanics, horticulture, and production agriculture programs. The study found the following: (1) more than 90 percent of the agricultural mechanics students intend to pursue a career in a field related to their studies, while only about 50 percent of horticulture students and production agriculture students intend to pursue a vocational objective related to their field; (2) motivator statements are not a good predictor of the enrollment area of students; (3) the average agricultural mechanics student was a male junior, age 17, who lived on 1-10 acres in a rural area, had blue-collar parents, held a job related to area of enrollment, was a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA), and ranked in the middle one-third of the class; (4) the average horticulture student was a female senior, 17, lived in the city on less than one acre, had an unrelated job, had blue-collar parents, belonged to FFA, and ranked in the middle one-third of the class; (5) the average production agriculture student was a male senior, age 17, lived on a farm of more than 100 acres, had blue-collar parents, belonged to FFA and ranked in the middle one-third of the class; and (6) demographic characteristics are not good predictors of students' vocational objectives, nor of motivators for students to enroll in vocational agriculture. The study concluded that more care should be taken to encourage students with a real interest in vocational agriculture to enroll in such programs. It also showed that placement rates are unfair indicators of success of vocational agriculture programs because many students enroll in these programs who do not have a vocational objective in agriculture. (KC)

A study was conducted to determine what competencies Extension employees working in urban areas of Ohio perceived as most necessary. Information on the demographic characteristics of urban Extension employees in the state was also gathered. Data were obtained via a two-part questionnaire mailed to the 46 Extension employees working in the urban areas of the state; response was 100 percent. The study found that Extension employees perceived that competency in organizational skills was the highest priority, with competency in communication skills a close second. Competency in research and evaluation received the lowest priority rating. Program planning and development was the highest ranked subcategory, while effective thinking, program execution, and public relations were the lowest ranked subcategories. No very high or substantial correlations were found between the competency categories, subcategories, and the demographic characteristics of the Extension employees. The study recommended that the curriculum in agricultural education at Ohio State University should take into consideration the career plans of future Extension employees who may work in an urban environment and that organization skills and urban planning and development competencies should be taught in classes. The study also recommended that Extension's program developers and policymakers should consider these findings when developing urban programs and policies. (KC)