Defining Agricultural Education Instructional Quality

Abstract

Current legislation, theory and concepts build the framework for this study in understanding how quality instruction is defined in education in general. In particular, the Fenstermacher and Richardson (2005) definitions of good, quality and successful teaching were used as the lens to interpret the findings. The study takes an exploratory approach at answering “what are specific indicators of quality instruction in a school based agricultural education program?” by using the consensus–building Delphi technique. The study found that experts in the field of agricultural education agreed upon 37 quality indicators. These indicators fell within a range of teaching aspects as defined by Fenstermacher and Richardson. Approximately 50 items from the open–ended round of the Delphi did not reach consensus among the expert panel.