The Validation of the Effective Teaching Instrument for School-Based Agricultural Education Teachers

Abstract

Producing competent, qualified, effective teachers to meet a growing nationwide demand is a daunting task. Identifying and preparing school-based agricultural education teachers is no exception. The purpose of the study was to validate and refine a 58-item effective teaching instrument for SBAE teachers. The population of interest was SBAE teachers nationwide (N = 12,690). Through principal component analysis, 26 of the original 58 items were retained as measures of SBAE teacher effectiveness. The instrument was validated and found to have acceptable Cronbach’s alpha levels for each of the six components. As a result, we conclude the instrument is appropriate for measuring the effectiveness of SBAE teachers and recommend it being used with other teachers, especially those in the Career and Technical Education fields.