Progress 06/01/08 to 05/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The last phase of this project looked at efforts by other agricultural and extension educators. However, the target audiences for this project continue to be secondary students and teachers and extension educators as well as those individuals responsible for preparing and supervising teacher preparation programs. Consequently, reports are shared with these individuals whenever possible. The presentation at the PA Career and Technical Education conference is one successful effort accomplished with this project as well as publishing the findings in the NACTA journal. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Presentations were made to participants of the PA Career and Technical Education Conference but not to Extension educators. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results of this study have been disseminated through Journal of Extension, The Ag Ed Magazine, NACTA Journal, dissertation, and master's paper. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Personal influences such as a parent, other relatives or friends had a low but significant influence on student's decision to enroll in agriculture at the collegiate level. Likewise, school related factors such as high school agriculture teacher, high school guidance counselor, and college recruiter were significant influencers for students to enroll in colleges or schools of agriculture. These findings are important as institutions of higher education prepare plans to recruit new and diverse population in its colleges. This project also looked at research conducted by extension educators. Their findings include lack of public interest, knowledge and awareness, conflicting messages from the media, competing agricultural interests with a n urban population and developers, deficiency of clear messages containing reliable, relatable, and objective data, lack of effective and objective message delivery from media, lack of agricultural and natural resources understanding and education among the media, and lack of time and money for educators to address the issue
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Bobbitt, E. M. & Baggett, C. D. 2013. Secondary school agriculture teachers perceived competence level toward educating students with educational challenges. Presentation at the PA Career and Technical Education Conference. Seven Springs, PA. 10 pp.
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Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project has distributed several pieces of information. Findings have been shared through a national journal to college level agricultural educators about the barriers identified by high school students. Additionally, students, PA secondary vocational teachers and administrators received the findings through presentations at state level meetings and conferences. PARTICIPANTS: Several people were involved in this project during this time period. They are Patreese Ingram, professor, Connie D. Baggett, associate professor, Erica Bobbitt, Ph.D. graduate, Brittany Smith, M.S. graduate, and all secondary agriculture teachers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Additionally, junior high school students in selected schools in southern New Jersey participated by completing survey instruments. Training and professional development opportunities were available through the Pennsylvania Career and Technical Education conference at Seven Springs, PA. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for this project continues to be secondary students and teachers as well as those individuals responsible for preparing and supervising teacher preparation programs. Consequently, reports are shared with these individuals whenever possible. The presentation at the PA Career and Technical Education conference is one successful effort accomplished with this project as well as publishing the findings in the NACTA journal. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Several projects are brought under the umbrella of this project. Working with the PA office of vocational rehabilitation, 12 farmers received evaluations and recommendations were made to assist them in their farming operation. These reports are individualized to each farmer and generally included the identification of assistive technology for use on the farm. Data was collected from high school students to determine what barriers prevented them from pursuing further education in agriculture. Many identified the lack of role models, lack of agricultural promotional information, and little knowledge of opportunities in agriculture among several variables that impacted their interest in agriculture. A comparison of Pa and NC secondary agriculture teachers was conducted and it was surprising to find many similarities relative to working with physically challenged students. Teachers are not getting the preservice education to prepare they to work with physically, emotionally, and cognitive challenged students. This information has been shared with administrators with the PA bureau for vocational education.
Publications
- Bobbitt, E. M. 2011. Secondary school agriculture teachers perceived competence level toward educating students with educational challenges. Ph.D. Dissertation. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 132 pp.
- Ingram, P. 2012. Popcorn and a movie - Opening diversity conversations across the state. Journal of Extension (In Press).
- Ingram, P., G. Bender, M. Kreifels, and M. Balschweid. 2012. Building the Capacity of 4-H/youth development in Iraq. Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research & Practice (In Press).
- Radhakrishna, R., C. Foley, P. D. Ingram, and J. C. Ewing. 2012. Effectiveness of the 4-H program as perceived by parents of 4-H participants. Journal of Extension (In Press).
- Smith, B. S. and C. D. Baggett. 2012. Perceptions of agriculture and perceived enrollment barriers to agricultural programs of select southern New Jersey high school students. NACTA Journal 56:48-56.
- Baggett, C. D. 2012. Helping farmers and farm families with a disability. Presentation at the Pa Department of Labor and Industries-Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Harrisburg, PA. 21 pages.
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Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Three different activities were conducted during this project year. First, secondary high school student were surveyed to determine the negative perceptions of agriculture and the lack of agricultural literacy of the general public due to a lack of education in agriculture and to determine what recruitment strategies must be developed that specifically focus on factors that influence student enrollment in secondary and collegiate programs. Specifically, this activity focused on the level of awareness found upon agricultural students, agricultural careers they may have knowledge of or their level of awareness of career opportunities in agriculture and their perceived barriers to enrollment in agricultural education programs. The second activity compared secondary agricultural education teachers of two states to determine the perceived competencies of secondary agricultural education teachers in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and to determine if workshop and coursework influenced their perceived competency level to work with special needs students. The third activity dealt with Cooperative Extension personnel perception of the future direction of the organization. This third activity is still underway. PARTICIPANTS: Four university faculty and staff individuals worked on this phase of the project. They are Dr. Connie Baggett, Dr. Patreese Ingram, Erica Bobbitt, and Brittany Smith. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for this phase of the study were secondary agricultural teachers, students, and school administrators. A fact sheet is being develop to send to these individuals. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The survey of secondary high school students was very interesting yet consistent with findings from other studies. The majority of respondents were white females who grew up or currently live in a suburban residential area. Males were found to be more aware of programs or organizations related to agriculture than females, while whites and non-whites were very similar in their awareness. Respondents who indicated having no family involved in agriculture were found to be more aware of programs or organizations related to agriculture than respondents who answered no. Respondents were found to be generally slightly unaware of career opportunities in agriculture overall, however, there were no significant differences found between gender, race or ethnicity, family involvement in agriculture, or residential area. Perceived barriers to enrollment were ranked according to mean scores and the top three barriers were lack of contact with recruiters, interest in agriculture, and lack of opportunity to work on a farm growing up. Males and females differed in their perception of potential barriers to enrollment. Non-whites were found to perceive specific barriers as being more of a potential barrier to enrollment in colleges of agriculture than whites. To address the issues found in this study, educators in secondary education should incorporate more agriculturally related topics into the curriculum and provide more opportunities for career exploration in agricultural fields. Also, secondary agriculture programs and colleges of agriculture should develop new strategies to focus their recruitment efforts towards more "non-traditional" students and provide more opportunities for students to have contact with recruiters specifically for secondary agriculture programs and colleges of agriculture. An analysis of variance was used to determine relationships between nominal variables. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine if the 16 items (competencies) mathematically clustered into a specific latent constructs. The 16 competencies clustered around 7 latent factors: instruction, cognitive skills, leadership, IEP laws, self-advocacy, student skills and abilities, and administration. Significant differences were not found between those who received coursework in special education and secondary agricultural education teachers who did. Significant differences were found between those who attended workshops in special education and secondary agricultural education teachers who do not. Significant differences were also noted on the following characteristics: age, and years of teaching. The age and the number of years of teaching of the participants were significant for self advocacy and skills and abilities. There were significant differences in the participant's familiarity with the laws that apply to students with disabilities, economically disadvantage, and academically challenged students. There were also significant differences in the participant's response to completing the IEP for the students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, although not required by law and academically challenged students.
Publications
- Kemirembe, O. M., R. B. Radhakrishna, E. Gurgevich, E. P. Yoder, and P. D. Ingram. 2011. An evaluation of nutrition education programs for low-income youth. Journal of Extension, 49(3):3RIBS. http://www.joe.org/joe/2011june/rb5.php.
- Smith, B. S. 2011. Perceptions of agriculture and perceived enrollment barriers to colleges of agriculture of southern New Jersey high school students. M.S. Thesis. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 101 pp.
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Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This phase of the study was conducted using a mail survey instrument during the spring 2010. USDA principle investigators (PIs) who indicated barriers as part of their keyword list were contacted to complete the questionnaire. There was a 45 percent response rate from these PIs. Of those responding, 75 percent were white males, 8 percent were African-Americans, and 17 percent classified themselves as Hispanic or Latino. Age wise, 58 percent were 53 years old or older and the majority indicated that they grew up on farm. Seventy-five percent listed 14 or more years of work experience. PARTICIPANTS: Four Penn State University faculty and staff individuals worked on this phase of the project. They are Dr. Connie Baggett, AEE, Dr. Patreese Ingram, AEE, Erica Bobbitt, AEE doctoral candidate, and Cathie Graham, AEE staff member. Additionally, more than 130 prior and current USDA principle investigators received questionnaires for completion. Many PIs completed and return these questionnaires. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for this project will be extension educators and secondary agricultural teachers. However, not enough data have been collected and analyzed for distribution. Efforts are underway to organize this partial data to determine its usability. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Selected USDA principle investigators were presented a questionnaire that asked them to provide input regarding, "how they were able to get underrepresented clients to participate in their program." The respondents provided a series of responses that were collectively grouped into seven categories: assistance, collaboration, communication, community, food, opportunity and teaching. The top three categories included communication, assistance and teaching. A total of 18 strategies were provided for communication, 12 for assistance and 10 for teaching. The respondents listed a total of eight strategies for collaboration, followed by 7 strategies for the community category. The categories opportunity and food received the fewest strategies, at five and three, respectively. These findings are being organized for sharing with extension educators and secondary agricultural teachers.
Publications
- Mpofu, C., P. Ingram, and R. Radhakrishna. 2010. Perceptions of 4-H Extension Educators and Volunteer Leaders toward the Inclusion of Youth with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder(s) in 4-H Programs. Journal of Youth Development Bridging Research and Practice http://web.memberclicks.com/mc/page.dositePageId=100191&orgId=nae4a.
- Charalambous-Snow, E. and P. Ingram. 2010. Increasing Communication Effectiveness and Efficiency Between the Department of Agriculture and The Cypriot Farmers They Serve. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education (In Press).
- Abma, S. W. and C. D. Baggett. 2010. Revitalize your ag ed, horticulture, or SAE program by teaching patio designs using concrete pavers. The Agricultural Education Magazine http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7445/is_201007/ai_n55067624/.
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Two surveys were conducted relative to barriers. First, students enrolled in the Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences were surveyed to determine those factors that influenced them to enroll. Additionally, underserved students in south eastern United States were also surveyed to determine what influenced them to enroll in colleges or schools of agriculture. PARTICIPANTS: There were many individuals who worked on or contributed to this project. CherRhonda Hollins, Patreese Ingram, and Connie Baggett, as well as a host of students, were the leaders of this study. However, staff assistants from departments in the Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences helped tremendously in getting the survey instruments to our students. Likewise, college deans and staff assistants in selected south eastern United States provided invaluable assistance in getting the survey instrument to their students as well. Clemson University, Louisiana University, University of Kentucky, and University of Florida helped with this study by granting permission to survey their students. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target population for data previously collected included all students enrolled in colleges or schools of agriculture to determine influencers for enrolling. Basic information was gathered to get a better understanding of today's youth and what motivated them to study agriculture. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Going forward, the procedures for this study have been divided into 6 phases and each phase requires the PI to obtain IRB approval before proceeding to collect data. This is a procedure that has been used before and it is much cleaner and effective. The IRB application recently submitted seeks a review and approval for PHASE 1. This phase will gather information from selected USDA project directors who have completed a project working with underserved clients.
Impacts
Personal influences such as a parent, other relatives or friends had a low but significant influence on students decision to enroll in agriculture at the collegiate level. Likewise, school related factors such as high school agriculture teacher, high school guidance counselor, and college recruiter were significant influencers for students to enroll in colleges or schools of agriculture. These findings are important as institutions of higher education prepare plans to recruit new and diverse population in its colleges. This information is still being organized for publication in professional journals. However, this information is reported in the Smith-Hollins dissertation in the publications section.
Publications
- Faulkner, P. E. and C. D. Baggett. 2009. Attitudes and educational and career choices of food and agricultural sciences institute participants. Proceedings of ACTE Region II Conference. Savannah, GA. September 25-27, 2009. (In Press).
- Faulkner, P. E. and C. D. Baggett. 2009. Preparing future secondary agricultural education teachers to work with students with learning disabilities: reports from teacher educators. Journal of Agricultural Education. (In Press).
- Ingram, P. D. 2009. Are accents one of the last acceptable areas for discrimination Journal of Extension. http://www.joe.org/joe/2009february/comm1.php.
- Smith-Hollins, C. M. 2009. Barriers to enrollment in colleges of agriculture: Prospectives of currently enrolled students at 1862 land-grant institutions. Ph.D. Thesis. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 120 pp.
- Smith-Hollins, C. M., C. D. Baggett,and P. D. Ingram. 2009. Perceptions of currently enrolled students about agriculture. Electronic Conference Proceedings. Hawaii International Conference on Education. Honolulu, HI. January 2009. pp 5284-5289.
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Progress 06/01/08 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project was just started several months ago. The research team is in the early implementation stages of the study. However, work has already been started on the development of an initial questionnaire to gather information from AES project directors who may have used innovative methods to recruit program participants in light of the barriers confronting program participation. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The questionnaire is in the early stages of development. However, care will be taken to ensure that the instrument has high content validity, construct validity, and reliability. It will be reviewed by a panel of experts in extension and secondary education to validate the validity goals and pretested with similar subjects to gain a strong reliability coefficient. These research techniques should help to strengthen the study.
Publications
- Borys, A. and P. D. Ingram. 2008. Preparing agriculture students to work with a Spanish-speaking workforce. NACTA Journal. (In Press).
- Faulker, F. and C. D. Baggett. 2008. The preparation of future secondary agriculture education teachers to work with students with learning disabilities. Southern Rural Sociological Association Meeting Abstracts. Dallas, Texas. 1 p.
- Ingram, P. and J. F. Scholl. 2008. Using clothing to increase understanding of diverse cultures. International Journal of Innovative Higher Education. 21:45-49.
- Ingram, P., C. Smith-Hollins, and R. Radhakrishna. 2008. Impact of yearlong 4-H Japanese internship on United Stated participants. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education. (In Press).
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