This unique thought experiment invites the field of agricultural education to a critical dialogue on issues related to making teaching a career. Leveraging elicitation techniques, we introduce a series of nine letters on agriculture teacher retention. Written by agriculture teacher education faculty with expertise in teacher retention, these…

The purpose of this study was to collaborate with School-Based Agriscience Education (SBAE) teachers who identify as LGBTQ+ to examine the unique interactions between their chosen career and their sexual and/or gender minority identities. This phenomenology utilized queer theory to analyze data from semi-structured interviews with individuals who…

Attrition is a documented cause for ongoing SBAE teacher shortages and is often linked with the number of challenges faced by teachers and their ability to overcome them. Teacher experiences with challenges and barriers has the potential to impact occupational self-efficacy, or their perceived ability to do their job. Lower occupational…

The year 2020 marked an era of change and demanded that educators across the globe adapt in new and innovative ways. In secondary agricultural education, teachers experienced significant transitions as a majority of K-12 schools shifted to remote, distance, and online instructional models. Therefore, teachers' position requirements, obligations,…

Due to the overwhelming number of teachers exiting the profession each year, recruitment and retention efforts continue to be a high priority for stakeholders within agricultural education. Specifically, teacher attrition has been identified as one of the leading problematic issues hindering growth of school-based agricultural education (SBAE)…

A teacher shortage continues to plague the SBAE profession. While this shortage has been quantified and explored from the perspective of individual teachers, little research has taken a systemic approach to the problem of the SBAE teacher shortage. We posit the teacher shortage problem as inextricably linked to a convoluted job description and…

The shortage of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers in the United States has been a chronic issue for decades. Besides not having sufficient graduates in our teacher preparation programs, the number of SBAE teachers annually leaving the profession further exacerbates the problem. While the reasons why SBAE teachers leave the…

Sustaining human capital in the agricultural industry is critical to the United States' ability to maintain preeminence in the global economy. This goal has become a greater challenge due to declining participation in agricultural academic programs, particularly at 1890 institutions. Although the anticipated outcome of the 1965 "merger"…

Teacher attrition is a significant problem nationally and a special challenge for school-based agriculture education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate contributing variables associated with former Illinois school-based agriculture teachers and their decision to leave the profession. A four-factor conceptual model is proposed…

With the high rates of agricultural teacher burnout and attrition in the United States, the need for teachers to strike a balance between their work and family responsibilities is imperative. The purpose of this research study was to explore the influence of gender on Texas agricultural teachers' perceived job obligations and family…

This phenomenological study of early career agriculture teachers sought to determine the meaning early career agriculture teachers ascribe to their time. Seven teachers with a range of experience from mid-first year to beginning of sixth year were chosen. Interviews were used to make meaning of their time. Five themes were found in the…

The challenge of retaining teachers in the profession of agricultural education is a prevalent and growing problem in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine the primary factors contributing to intention to leave the profession among Georgia agriculture teachers. Teacher-participants responded to a web-based survey which…

Understanding job satisfaction, stress, and burnout within agricultural education has the potential to impact the profession's future. Studying these factors through the theoretical lens of social comparison takes a cultural approach by investigating how agriculture teachers interact with and compare themselves to others. The purpose of this study…

The study sought to explore and compare the current level of job stress among secondary agriculture teachers in Missouri and North Carolina. The accessible populations consisted of secondary agriculture teachers (n = 252) in Missouri and (n = 118) in North Carolina. Data were collected using the Job Stress Survey (Spielberger & Vagg, 1999).…

This national study used the Delphi technique to identify the issues facing urban agriscience teachers. The first round of the study used a questionnaire with one open-ended question to generate responses from the expert panel. In the second round, respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement with 72 issues identified in round one using…