A qualitative analysis of agriculture teacher’s attitudinal changes toward the teaching profession in the first three years of teaching

Abstract

This longitudinal qualitative phenomenological case study seeks to understand beginning agriculture teachers’ experiences and how their attitudes toward teaching evolve over time. The research included visits to the teachers’ facilities, monthly interviews, reflection exercises, and focus groups. Initial coding included magnitude and in vivo coding methods followed by rounds of focused, axial, and theoretical coding. Based on the individual and collective experiences of the eight teachers gathered monthly over three years, their experiences at the beginning of the year followed a similar path to prior studies. However, following the mid-fall semester “slump” the agriculture teachers in their first, second, and third years had a different experience than prior studies suggested. They experienced a second spring semester “slump” in their attitude toward teaching. While some teachers finished the year strong, others struggled to the end. The teachers described their attitudes toward teaching as more extreme in the monthly interviews but held an overall positive attitude toward teaching when reflecting on the year as a whole at the conclusion of each of the three years. Facilitators of early career teacher support programs should become aware of the highs and lows beginning teachers face and develop programs to help them navigate the challenging times. Recommendations for future research included conducting a similar study with a more diverse population of teachers in a variety of schools and communities.