Developing Attitudinal Metrics for Induction-Year Agricultural Education Teachers

Abstract

This study was part of a larger regional study of induction-year agricultural education teachers in three Western states. Studies have purported that attitude toward teaching is important for understanding and helping induction-year teachers. Thus, developing an instrument to assess induction-year agricultural education teachers’ attitudes toward their job aligns with the National Research Agenda for Agricultural Education (Doerfert, 2011); specifically, “Define the characteristics of effective agricultural education programs and teachers and the means to correctly access the current state of these characteristics” (p. 10). Moir (1999) theorized that induction-year teachers experience Anticipation, Survival, Disillusionment, Rejuvenation, and Reflection, which provided the basis for initial instrument development. Induction-year agricultural education teachers employed in three Western states were randomly assigned to three of six repeated measures during the 2011–2012 academic year, which yielded 375 useable responses. Based on the useable responses, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation resulted in nine constructs: Professional Efficacy, Balanced Reflection, Professional Commitment, Professional Confidence, Anticipated Change, Work-Life Balance, Strategic Renewal, Problem Solving, and Professional Resolve.