Bridging Professional Development and Practice: Florida Agricultural Educators’ Perspectives on SAE for All Implementation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.v67i2.3285Keywords:
SAE, SBAE, SAE for All, Professional Development, Adult LearningAbstract
Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) provide a structured outlet for facilitating experiential learning and allow students to pursue personal interests while increasing their agricultural literacy and workforce skills. The SAE for All model contributes to conceptualizing how individualized career and college readiness can be achieved for all students within School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE). Although agriculture teachers, stakeholders, and students find value in the experiences and skills gained through SAEs, there continues to be difficulty in increased adoption of SAE for All concepts. This research sought to gain perspective on the current state of SAE for All implementation in Florida before and after participating in an SAE for All professional development (PD). Data collected prior to the PD provided a baseline for what is currently happening with SAE for All in the state, and offered valuable insight on barriers agriculture teachers are experiencing with SAE for All. Agriculture teachers in Florida continue to find difficulty in motivating all students and find it challenging to commit the time to plan, facilitate, and evaluate SAEs. Agriculture teachers who participated in PD sessions were asked to be part of a focus group that delved deeper into the nuances associated with increased implementation of SAE for All. These qualitative findings revealed that these agriculture teachers recognize their influence in the implementation and motivation process and found the PD useful. Additional PD opportunities for SAE for All, especially those that allow for individualized program planning, and resources that include visual examples of project types, are recommended.
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