Program Needs of Middle School Agricultural Education Teachers: A Delphi Study

Abstract

This study examined program needs of middle school agricultural education teachers in North Carolina. A three–round Delphi technique used two open–ended questions to collect information from an expert panel of middle school agricultural education teachers. Each panel member was asked to respond to: Question one: “What can be done on the local, state and national levels to improve middle school agricultural education programs?” Question two: “When looking at the three circle model for agricultural education, what improvements can be made for middle school agricultural education related to FFA, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), and classroom instruction?” Panel members identified 29 areas of concern on the local, state, and national level and 19 areas related to FFA, SAE, and classroom instruction. Middle school agricultural education teachers in [State] believe that the curriculum for their students should contain more hands–on activities and should have a stronger agricultural focus. This panel of teachers also revealed that there are many more concerns with FFA activities for middle school students than there are for SAE and classroom instruction.