Perceptions of Preservice Teachers Preparedness' to Teach the Science of Agriculture
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Date
2017-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Preservice Agriscience Education (Ag. Ed.) teachers at The Ohio State University are enrolled in a block of courses prior to student teaching. The block at The Ohio State University was planned following a theory of immersion to prepare and shape Agriscience Education majors for their student teaching semester. The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of preparedness of the preservice Ag. Ed. students’ who engaged in the immersion block experience. Prior research on preservice Ag. Ed teachers were focused on the preparation for licensure, content knowledge, understanding teacher self-confidence, and variations of agriscience teacher preparation programs. Prior research showed that with the increase in agricultural education positions, it’s becoming increasingly important to access the success or failure of developing preservice teachers. Courses on teaching methods and planning curriculum are available at a majority of the institutions that offer Agriscience Education as a major. Some of the courses such as being an FFA advisor and managing students SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) projects are only offered at a select few institutions. This study utilized content analysis on transcripts of structured focus groups and journals kept by population to identify themes related research objectives. The population for this study was eleven preservice teachers in agricultural education at the university level. The focus group debriefs were all transcribed by a third party to ensure trustworthiness of results. Results of the study are being analyzed using thick, rich descriptions. Conclusions will be drawn that will not be generalized beyond the populations being studied. The recommendations made by the researchers will be used to inform the curriculum for preservice teachers in Agriscience Education at The Ohio State University.
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Keywords
Prepardness, Agriscience Education, Teach, Preparation, Immersion