In order to determine the effectiveness of vocational agriculture in Virginia from 1918 to 1932, and to further assist the teachers in this follow-up work, this study was made with the following objectives in mind: 1. To determine the occupational status of former students of vocational agriculture in Virginia. 2. To determine trends in occupational selection and the relation of industrial and agricultural economic conditions to occupational selection. 3. To evaluate some of the influences on occupational selection, such as amount of vocational agriculture; type of agriculture of the community; efficiency of the Agriculture Department, and certain census data regarding counties. This study includes data from 148 white and 25 negro schools, and also includes follow-up records from 7,784 white and 1,583 negro ex-students of vocational agriculture in Virginia from 1918 to 1932. / Master of Science

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1. This study includes information about 125 departments of vocational agriculture, or 58.6 per cent of the 213 white departments established in the State of Virginia when this study was begun. 2. Data from the teacher trainers and district supervisors of Virginia shows the same trend and results as the data of teachers of vocational agriculture. 3. This study shows 101 or 80.8 per cent of the departments have an advisory council and 24 or 19.2 per cent have none. 4. The average years of experience with using advisory council in present position was 7.4 years, while those not using a council at present was 3.6 years. The teachers using councils serve in present school over twice as long as those not using a council. 5. There were only three teachers with nine or more years of service in present school who did not have an advisory council. 6. The teachers without councils reported an average of 1.7 reasons each for not having an advisory council. 7. Only 12 departments were making use of special councils, and 10 of these also used general councils. 8. The average council in the Southern region is almost the same as the average council in Virginia. / M.S.

This investigation is a study of educational and vocational goals of a selected sample of rural youth; relationship of the parents' goals for their children to the childrens' goals; and a study of the relationships of sex, farm residence, membership in certain youth organizations, and level of living to these goals. Subjects were 49 ninth and tenth grade boys and girls and their parents, living in the Appalachian region of Virginia. The sample of families were chosen by criteria for selection of youths rather than parents. According to student classification types 24 were boys, 25 were girls; 26 were members of the 4-H Club, Future Farmers or Future Homemakers of America; 19 were classes in the high, 21 in the middle, and 9 in the low level of living groups; and 20 lived on farms. Schedules relating to vocational and educational goals were administered to the students and their parents. Parents were asked to complete the questionnaire as they hoped their ninth or tenth grade child would answer. Results of the data collected revealed that plans for a college education were higher for girls, for non-farm, non-membership, and higher level of living youths. Most students had not decided what to study in college; and home economics and agriculture ranked low in popularity for high school and college. Educational and vocational goals of the youths were lower than their parents' goals for them, and there was often conflict between goals of parents and children. / Master of Science

A survey of the Virginia Agribusiness Council members was conducted to identify the basic and technical skills that are important for high school graduates to develop prior to seeking entry-level employment in the agricultural industry. Available entry-level positions were categorized and the mean years of experience at each position identified. Skills were ranked in order of decreasing importance based on mean scores of the survey respondents. Overall, basic skills ranked higher than technical skills. The top five skills in order of importance were: a positive work attitude, self-motivation, the ability to follow directions, safe equipment operation, and working without supervision. Data were analyzed by firm category as utilized by the Virginia Agribusiness Council. Contrary to the skill ranking of the other firm categories, the producer category ranked the ability to follow directions as the most important skill. The entry-level positions identified could be classified into the following categories: management, laborer, skilled operator, sales, and clerk/office employee. The most frequent entry-level jobs identified were in the laborer and management training classifications. The mean years of work experience for all positions, across all categories, was seven years. Basic and technical skills are both essential elements for high school graduates seeking entry-level employment in agriculture. Neither area should be emphasized over the other in preparation for work at the high school level. A firm foundation of basic and technical skills needed in the agricultural industry is recommended for students’ successful transition from school to work. / Master of Science

In this study eighty farmers were interviewed. As far as the writer was able to determine, this number represented over fifty per cent of the farmers who received one-half or more of their income from the farm as cash or family food. If the number interviewed may be considered to constitute a valid study, several conclusions are formulated. / Master of Science

The objective of this thesis was to identify and measure the effect of factors that influenced income earnings of former agricultural students. Data were obtained from a questionnaire mailed to former Virginia Tech students, all of whom were enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences during 1977. An analysis of the 243 respondents was conducted with emphasis on educational profiles, labor market entry and participation, and personal characteristics. Models based on human capital and labor market principles were developed to explain differences in individual incomes. Earned income models were estimated for the first job after leaving college, for the job held in 1985, and for the 1985 job in a lagged formulation. Analysis of covariance was used to estimate the empirical models. Model results for the first job starting income indicated positive returns to education and the provision of profit sharing benefits. Significantly higher starting incomes were also found for males and for those who considered pay as important or very important. In contrast, the year of job entry exhibited an inverse relationship with starting income. No significant differences in first job income were found for college major, type of placement services used, state location of the job, nature of the job (whether agricultural or not), and provision of housing benefits. Model results for the 1985 income, as in the starting income model, indicated positive returns to the provision of profit sharing benefits. Significantly higher incomes were also associated with married respondents, urban residents, and those who ranked oral communication skills as much needed or essential. In contrast, lower incomes were associated with those who ranked a technical skill to be much needed or essential and with those who held more previous jobs. Insignificant variables in the 1985 income model included level of education, college major, state location of the job, nature of the job, personal assessment of the importance of pay, provision of housing benefits, ranking of the need for knowledge of agricultural policy, and gender. Results for the lagged formulation of the 1985 income model were similar to results for the 1985 income model. In addition, prior income was found to be a positive and significant determinant of 1985 incomes. Implications for academic support areas, curricula, and students were presented and discussed / Master of Science

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