An Exploration of the Motivational Profile of Secondary Urban Agriculture Students

Abstract

This descriptive-correlational study examined the personal factors that may affect the self-determination of 110 freshmen who have elected to enroll in an urban agriculture program. The personal factors, termed the motivational profile, consisted of influences in the decision to enroll in the program, the student’s type of motivation to attend the agriculture program, satisfaction with that decision, and perceived effort during academic tasks related to agriculture. Results show that when students perceive they have an influence in the decision to enroll in the program, they are more satisfied with the decision and more likely to report exerting a moderate to high effort on academic tasks related to agriculture. This study has implications for establishing a body of knowledge on non-rural student motivation toward agriculture that can impact teacher training, educational interventions targeting student achievement, and student recruitment and retention into agriculture.