A challenge faced by agricultural educators across the country is a lack of
qualified teachers entering the profession. The purpose of this study was to determine if
there is a relationship between student teacher perceptions of the student
teacher/cooperating teacher relationship and the decision to enter the teaching
profession. Background/demographic characteristics were also examined to determine if
relationships existed with the decision about entering teaching. These characteristics
included gender, age, academic classification, race/ethnicity, previous agricultural work
experience, and semesters of high school agricultural science courses completed.
The target population of this study consisted of preservice agricultural education
students at Texas A&M University. The sample consisted of 33 student teachers who
completed their student teaching in the fall semester 2004.
The instrument consisted of three parts. Part I of the instrument contained six
background/demographic variables (gender, age, semesters of high school agricultural
science courses completed, academic classification, race/ethnicity, and agricultural work
experience). Part II of the instrument contained 14 items measuring student teacher perceptions of the student teacher/cooperating teacher relationship. For each item,
participants were asked to indicate the importance of each characteristic and the current
level of their cooperating teacher using a modified five point Likert-type scale. Part III
of the instrument consisted of a single item, âÂÂDo you plan to teach agricultural science
when you graduate?â accompanied by a seven point response scale ranging from
definitely yes to definitely no.
There was no relationship found between the student teacher/cooperating teacher
relationship and the decision to teach. However, a relationship was found between
previous agricultural work experience and the decision to teach, as well as a relationship
between the semesters of high school agricultural science courses competed and the
decision to teach. By knowing how many high school agricultural science courses a
student had completed, one could better predict the decision to teach.
As a result of the study, the researcher recommends that agricultural education
programs recruit students who have completed high school agriculture courses. High
school agricultural science teachers should encourage their students to pursue careers in
agricultural education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/4372 |
| Date | 30 October 2006 |
| Creators | Kasperbauer, Holly Jo |
| Contributors | Boyd, Barry L., Roberts, T. Grady |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | 417669 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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