STEM teachers are considered one of the most important factors in inspiring high school students in STEM to excite them about the dynamic nature of the STEM fields (PCAST, 2010). Increasing the number of qualified and diverse science and mathematics teachers, especially those working in high-need areas, is of paramount importance. The intention of…

This study explored the impact of an active project-based, aquaculture constructivist-learning program, as perceived by high school students. The purpose of this case study was to discover if participation in the program influenced students' interest, engagement, and future educational and career aspirations in science, technology, engineering,…

Background/Context: School districts across the United States face persistent difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers (García & Weiss, 2019; Schmitt & deCourcy, 2022). Over the last decade, every state in the south has faced a growing teacher shortage, with some facing shortages in all grades and subjects (U.S. Department of…

This study examines the influences that high school seniors considered when making their plans for after graduation. Bourdieu's theory of habitus and Coleman's social capital theory inform the conceptual framework. Qualitative interviews were conducted with students and school counselors from four rural Kentucky school districts. Family, peers and…

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe factors that influence senior agricultural education students' choice to become a secondary agricultural education teacher. The study focused on the extent to which students' beliefs and attitude about teaching influenced their intent to select teaching secondary agricultural education as a…

One of the largest problems facing rural school counselors is that of confronting the low career expectations that many rural students have by the time they reach high school. The relationship among the fear of success (FOS), self-concept, and career decision making of adolescents was examined in this study. Special attention was given to whether…

Elementary school teachers (N=230) in Kentucky were surveyed to determine the relationship between math anxiety and sex, career inhibition, type and recency of training. Results indicated a significant relationship between math anxiety and career inhibition and type of training. No relationship was found with sex and recency of training.…

Background characteristics of agriculture students at Western Kentucky University (WKU), the factors affecting their choice of careers, their goals and expectations, and certain agriculture related attitudes were examined in 1978 in a survey of 150 randomly selected agriculture students at that university. Similarities and differences with their…

In 1978, 150 randomly selected agriculture students at Murray State University were surveyed to determine their general background characteristics, high school characteristics, work experiences, people and factors influential in their choice of a college major, goals and expectations, and selected agriculture related attitudes. The agriculture…

Southern Regional Research Project S-114 was initiated to obtain a better understanding of why students select agriculture as a college major and to study the factors related to their career choices; as a part of this study, in 1977 characteristics of agriculture students at two regional state universities in Kentucky were determined. The…

A research study investigated Kentucky middle school students' knowledge of career options available to them and the implementation of career education at the middle school level. A sample of 236 students from 11 middle schools throughout the state were interviewed for the research during the 1990-91 school year. Some of the findings of the study…

The evaluation of the Bowling Green, Kentucky, K-12 Career Education Incremental Improvement Project consisted of five components: professional staff survey (PSS), student career maturity, career education program assessment, record of student career development, and academic achievement. PSS findings indicated that the seventy principals,…