Bridging the Gap: Mapping U.S County-Level Economic Disadvantage for Targeted Support in Agricultural Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.v67i1.3240Keywords:
Economic disadvantage, Spatial inequality, Educational disparity, School-based agricultural educationAbstract
Economic factors can greatly impact student learning and achievement outcomes. Determining what students are considered to be “economically disadvantaged” is commonly based on their free and/or reduced lunch status, which neglects other economically related factors. Within the agricultural education profession, limited research exists on Economically Disadvantaged (ED) youth, possibly due to the lack of knowledge and resources available to accurately identify ED youth nationally. This study was designed to develop a spatial scale to identify and map financial hardship across all counties in the 50 U.S. states. Five economic-related data sources were used to determine the ED counties in each state by providing each county with a financial hardship level. Counties placed at levels 4 and 5 were deemed ED. The results included a level distribution overview, a list of ED counties, a list of ED counties with no SBAE program, a percentage of ED population, and an ED map. These results serve as a resource for identifying counties within the U.S. where future research and resources within the agriculture education profession can be channeled to provide more opportunities and support for SBAE programs serving ED youth.
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