Problems Faced By High School Agricultural Education Teachers

Abstract

If the agricultural education profession is going to grow and prosper in the 21st century, it will need an adequate supply of qualified teachers. In 2001, however, the number of qualified potential agricultural education teachers actually seeking employment as teachers fell far short of the net number of replacements needed.Two contributing factors include qualified potential teachers fail to accept employment in the profession and many beginning teachers fail to remain in the teaching profession.One way to improve the number of qualified agricultural education teachers is to reduce the number of teachers who leave the profession early through attrition.The purpose of this study was to identify problems faced by beginning and current teachers of agricultural education.The research revealed 20 problem areas experienced by beginning and current teachers. The categories included administrative support, discipline, class preparations, time management, paperwork, facilities/equipment, community support, self-confidence, developing a course of instruction, budgets/funding, the reputation of the previous teacher, faculty relationships, undergraduate preparation, student motivation, guidance counselors, enrollment numbers, balancing school and home, university relations, special needs students, multi-teacher issues, image of agricultural education, financial rewards, and changes in FFA and agriculture.