A quantitative analysis of the perceptions of CTE administrators on the integration of employability skills into agricultural education

Abstract

Preparing students for the workforce is a foundational pillar of education. This study sought to assess the perceptions of CTE administrators in [State A] and [State B] on the importance of agricultural educators integrating various employability skills education into their instruction. Traditionally, the relationship between CTE administrators and agricultural educators has been viewed as important. An understanding of the perceptions of [State A] and [State B] CTE administrators that offer agricultural education in their district could be beneficial in determining the importance of employability skills integration into agricultural education. This study utilized the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network Employability Skills Framework to develop the instrument. CTE administrators were asked to rate each individual employable skill on a 1 to 5 Likert scale with 1 = Not Important at All and 5 = Extremely Important. Construct scores for each employability skill category was calculated using the individual employability skills ratings. The results found that participating CTE administrators perceived all employability skill categories to be Very Important or Extremely Important. The employability skills most valued by CTE administrators included Critical Thinking Skills, Personal Qualities, and Communication Skills. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to ascertain any differences in perception held by CTE administrators in [State A] and [State B]. While the analysis did not return any statistically significant results, it could suggest that CTE administrators in [State A] and [State B] agree on which skills are most valuable for agricultural educators to integrate into their instruction.