Perceptions Of Iowa Secondary School Agricultural Education Teachers And Students Regarding Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of Iowa agricultural education teachers and students about sustainable agriculture. The teacher population for the study included all secondary school agricultural education teachers in Iowa (N=248). A stratified random sample of 60 teachers (schools) was selected, 10 from each of the six FFA districts. Teachers in the sample were asked to administer instruments to all eleventh and twelfth grade students in their agricultural education classes, yielding 464 student participants. Likert-type scales were used to measure perceptions related to knowledge and impact of sustainable agriculture. Teachers perceived themselves as having additional things to learn about sustainable agriculture practices and students measured themselves as only "knowing a little" about them. Teachers and students alike perceived sustainable agriculture impacting agriculture and the environment in several ways. Relatively high perceptions of sustainable agriculture were observed for both groups. The findings of this study support the need to integrate sustainable agriculture into the secondary school agricultural education curriculum.