Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1961. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-110).

The purpose of this study was to examine how performance expectations influence contest performance at the National FFA Agricultural Mechanics Career Development Event. The population for this study included all participants at the national contest in the years 2001 through 2006 with a total response of 976 participants. Data were collected using a 20 item questionnaire administered after the contest. The questionnaire included questions to measure current educational status, aspired education and career, contest expectations, evaluations of contest relatedness to previous coursework and difficulty, preparation, and interest in agriculture and agricultural mechanics. Contest scores were used to quantify participant performance. Career Development Events are an important component to a complete FFA program used to enhance student learning. Expectations and aspirations may have an effect on student learning. Of the respondents, 61.7% had not graduated from high school. In addition, 86.4% planned to pursue education after high school, and 30.2% planned to pursue a career related to agricultural mechanics while another 40.4% planned to pursue a separate agriculturally related career. The mean response for expected individual finish was 55th place out of about 163 contestants, expected team finish was 15th place out of about 44 teams participating annually, and 43.1% expected to finish second on their team. The most statistically significant predictors of contest performance were expected individual and team finish. Participants who expected to perform better performed better. High education aspirations and career aspirations in agriculture also produced a significant influence on performance. The number of contests participated in before national contest, the relatedness of the contest to previous coursework, and the difficulty of the contest produced a significant direct influence on performance. The longer the participant has been in school and as the participant takes more agriculture courses, performance significantly increased. The interest of the participant in agriculture and agricultural mechanics positively influenced performance. Further research was proposed to specifically differentiate between aspirations and expectations, and measure performance aspirations and expectations before and after the contest. As agricultural science education moves toward a more multidisciplinary approach, it would be useful to determine how math and science courses influence performance.

Since federal legislation in 1917 and the widespread program growth in the 1930’s, agricultural mechanics has been a major part of the high school agricultural science and technology curriculum. Local programs integrated individual problem -solving, practical applications of mathematics and technical science skills in to the curriculum. However, recent financial constraints and a perceived lack of interest have led to reductions in course offerings in agricultural mechanics in some universities that are responsible for the maintenance and future of the disciplinary area. These curricular issues gave rise to a research problem examining the perspectives of successful agricultural science and technology teachers of agricultural mechanics and the education and experiences that were associated with their success. This study used qualitative measures to identify factors that enabled certain agricultural science and technology teachers who were more noted in teaching of agricultural mechanics to be more successful than their peers. It examined factors that motivated teachers to excel and examined the influences that determined what portions of the curriculum were included or deleted. Finally, this study focused on the recommendations of experts regarding improvements for future teaching of high school agricultural mechanics. Data were collected, analyzed, and reported using accepted a qualitative protocol to develop emergent themes. Successful agricultural science and technology teachers agreed that their undergraduate course work did not adequately prepare them to teach the current curriculum. Unanimously, the respondents expressed a concern for the lack of depth, scope, and technical skills in agricultural mechanics currently being taught to future agricultural science teachers. This concern for the pre-service curriculum led teachers to agree that the three-week agricultural mechanics certification workshop is essential for successful instruction of agricultural mechanics. Furthermore, teachers espoused a formal mentoring program to aid the professional development of agricultural science and technology teachers. The respondents alluded to the need for more quality workshops on the part of the Texas Education Agency, the VATAT professional organization and the agricultural education community as a whole to improve the quality, scope, depth, and technical skills in the instruction of Agricultural Science and Technology in the high schools of Texas.