Barriers to Participation in the National FFA Organization According to Urban Agriculture Students

Abstract

Urban youth engaged in after-school organizations have more positive attributes compared to their unengaged contemporaries. The FFA is one particular intra-curricular organization with after-school components; yet, urban students do not participate in FFA at the same levels as rural students. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore barriers to participation in FFA among urban high school agriculture students in an urban school district. We surveyed students’ level of participation in FFA to determine their perceived barriers to FFA participation. Findings revealed students do not agree with any of the listed or expected barriers; however, significant differences surfaced between non-members and active members concerning barriers related to friends, family, school, and the community. The study exposed a need to address the perceptions of friends, family, and community when recruiting urban FFA members.