Determinants of Pre-Service Students’ Choice to Teach Secondary Agricultural Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explain and predict the factors that influence senior-level agricultural education students’ choice to become a secondary agriculture teacher. The study focused on the extent to which beliefs and attitudes toward teaching influenced students’ intent to select teaching secondary agricultural education as a career. An adaptation of the FIT-Choice® Scale instrument was distributed to senior-level students enrolled at institutions with teacher development programs to certify secondary agriculture teachers within nine states. A total of 145 students completed the instrument. Overall, characteristics of sex, perceived agriculture experience compared to their peers, years enrolled in schoolbased agricultural education courses, years of FFA membership, participation in SAE, and years of 4-H membership were not significant predictors of intent to teach. However, two beliefs about teaching subconstructs (“teacher morale,” and “expert career”) were found to be significant predictors of students’ intent to teach. Similarly, four attitudinal sub-constructs (“fallback career,” “working with adolescents,” “intrinsic career value” and “job security”) were significant predictors of intent to teach. Eight percent of intent to teach can be accounted for by attitude when controlling for beliefs.