Fundamentally, agricultural teacher education programs and their faculty are tasked with preparing competent teachers capable of teaching students enrolled in public schools. As part of their design, an important facet of these programs is ensuring pre-service teachers are ready to provide educational opportunities in aspects of school-based…

Researchers have reported that participation in agricultural education reinforces STEM concepts. The use of projects is common in agricultural education. However, the foundational understanding of certain tenets of project use is not clear. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to test the effects of project authenticity on learning. AFNR…

The purpose of this study was to determine students' perceived confidence in mechanics skills increases through exploration and enlargement of the college education experience. This paper describes the relationship between West Virginia University first-semester agricultural education pre-service teachers' perception of their confidence in…

Preparing college students with the skills to engage in multidisciplinary problem solving, especially as it relates to the wicked problems of agriculture, has been called for by scholars for nearly two decades (UNFAO, 2006; Boyer, 1998; NRC 1998). Our nation's Land Grants, with the mission to provide practical education, and particularly…

Agricultural teacher education programs are designed to prepare competent teachers who are ready to teach students in public schools. One aspect of agricultural teacher education is ensuring teachers are ready to lead instruction in various aspects of school-based agricultural education (SBAE), such as teaching students various technical…

Agricultural Education teacher licensure programs face a growing list of coursework needed to meet requirements with a shrinking number of credit hours available. A new course -- 'Greenhouse and Landscape Fundamentals for Educators' was developed at Purdue University with an Agricultural Education Teacher Licensure B.S. degree program. Data…

As agriculture increasingly moves into a digital realm, it is important for future professionals to gain experience with predictive and computer-based technologies. Farm simulation platforms can be efficient tools for crop management and natural resources courses, yet limited research has demonstrated their efficacy in undergraduate education. We…

Objective: This research seeks to identify strategies that promote the sustainability of pre-professional practices in agricultural careers in Ecuador through the perceptions of actors from the academy, public sector, and business. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses online surveys, fuzzy cognitive maps, and scenario analysis. The…

Students coming to university agricultural education programs have less agricultural experience than in the past. Teacher educators are limited to the experiences they can facilitate. Universities have graduated qualified agricultural teacher candidates who do not have experiences in content area skills required of them to teacher. This study…

The article highlights recent food policies in Chicago with the goal of exploring how higher education institutions can contribute to development of sustainable food resources for residents of North American cities. Thousands of Chicago residents face daily challenges accessing fresh food due to income constraints and/or lack of proximity to food…

This longitudinal trend study sought to compare the perceptions of preservice agricultural education teachers, enrolled in a Metals and Welding course at a land grant university, on their welding related skills at the beginning of the semester to their final course grade at the end of the semester. Preservice agriculture teachers (N = 240) who…

The University of Florida Cooperative Extension conducted a statewide program with a dual role during 2013 and 2014 to enhance efficiency. The program provided in-service training to county Extension agents and provided continuing education to meet requirements needed by licensed pesticide applicators. Using Polycom distance technology, the event…

Growing up in Philadelphia, Jenna Moser always wanted to be like her dad, who was a member of FFA and grew up on a farm in western Pennsylvania. She took a big step in emulating her father when she enrolled at the W. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, and became a member of FFA herself, going on to serve as president during her senior…

This article highlights how two institutions--Redlands Community College (RCC) and Auburn University--teamed up to create a virtual world called Eagle Island, where learners enter to learn all they need to know about poultry science. Eagle Island, located in Second Life, provides an opportunity to tour a real-life food processing…

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), established in 2004, is a network of 25 universities at the postgraduate level in 15 countries in Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa. RUFORUM's mission is to strengthen the capacity of universities to foster innovations responsive to demands of smallholder farmers…