Since federal legislation in 1917 and the widespread program growth in the 1930s,
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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/3138 |
| Date | 12 April 2006 |
| Creators | Ford, Richard Kirby |
| Contributors | Lawver, David E., Shinn, Glen C. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Record of Study, text |
| Format | 320948 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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