Emerging Trends for Middle School Agricultural Education in the United States: A Scoping Review

Jacob Englin; Richie Roberts; Kristin S. Stair; Michael F. Burnett

doi:10.5032/jae.v66i1.2783

Authors

Jacob Englin Louisiana State University https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8816-534X
Richie Roberts New Mexico State University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2993-4945
Kristin S. Stair Louisiana State University https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3004-1120
Michael F. Burnett Louisiana State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.v66i1.2783

Keywords:

Middle school, scoping review, school-based agricultural education

Abstract

Recent trends in agricultural education have demonstrated that the number of middle school programs and students has been increasing. Despite this, middle school agricultural education students, teachers, and programs have been underserved. For example, middle school agricultural education teachers lack the training and resources to meet the needs of this diverse learning population. In response, this investigation’s purpose was to synthesize the published research on middle school agricultural education. This scoping review revealed limited peer-reviewed publications on middle school agricultural education. However, the most commonly reported subject areas taught at the middle school level included career exploration, environmental and natural resources, international agriculture, and leadership/human relations, which included FFA-related topics. Additional research should be conducted to describe the characteristics of quality middle school SAE programs and determine the relevance of agricultural education’s comprehensive, three-circle model to middle school programs. Moving forward, we recommend that middle school agricultural education teachers be provided with targeted professional development to serve students of this age level better and to create additional opportunities for students to be recognized through FFA award programs.

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References

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