The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of the first year
experience of teaching secondary agriculture and to explore the relationships between
these perceptions, the characteristics of beginning agriculture teachers, and the types
of support provided to beginning teachers. An additional focus of the study was to
explore the relationship between the level of commitment to teaching and the
perceptions of the first year experience. Information was gathered from secondary
agriculture teachers across the U.S. who were in their second year of teaching
agricultural education during the 2003-2004 academic year.
A survey instrument was created specifically for this study through which
information about the perceived experience of the first year, the types of support
provided to the beginning teacher during the initial year of teaching, the perceived
effectiveness of the support provided, demographic characteristics of the beginning
teacher, and the perceived likelihood of teaching secondary agriculture in the future
was gathered. Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics. The
57 variables related to the perceptions of the first year experience were reduced to 14
factors through Principal Component Analysis.
Nearly 90 percent of respondents described the overall experience of their first
year as very positive, positive, or somewhat positive. The most frequently reported
positive experiences included working with students in the FFA, participating in
professional development opportunities, and using computers and multimedia in
teaching. A majority of respondents also described their relationships with school
staff, colleagues, and administrators as positive or very positive. Less than 25 percent
of respondents perceived the salary in relationship to the time required as positive or
very positive. Most respondents reported negative perceptions of working with
students in the classroom who don't want to be there and in dealing with problem
student behavior.
While nearly three-fourths of the respondents reported they were highly likely
to teach secondary agriculture one-year from the time of the survey, less than one-third
reported they were highly likely to do so at five years, and only 15% reported
they were highly likely to do so twenty years from the time of the survey. / Graduation date: 2004
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/30977 |
| Date | 27 April 2004 |
| Creators | Warnick, Brian K. |
| Contributors | Thompson, Gregory W. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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