A Description Of The Characteristics Attributed To Students' Decisions To Teach Agriscience

Abstract

A major issue facing agricultural education is recruiting qualified young teachers to theprofession. Attempts have been made to recruit new teachers by offering scholarship incentives, highlighting teachers at the National FFA Convention, and producing recruitment brochures. This Delphi study attempts to answer questions about how current agriscience teachers encourage their students to pursue careers in teaching. Respondents were teachers (n=11), stratified across six different southern states, who prolifically produced agricultural education students and future teachers. Findings indicated that teachers who serve as role models, build quality programs, and refrain from disparaging remarks and attitudes about the profession encourage students. Students may be enticed to teach if teachers demonstrate high standards, lead in the school and community, and take an interest in all aspects of a student's life. The research produced five constructs for recruitment of future teachers: encouragement, modeling, career counseling and awareness, program quality, and teacher effectiveness. The most influential constructs were determined to be encouragement and program quality. Career awareness and counseling was the least influential construct.