CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT PARTICIPATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF KANSAS AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

Abstract

Past studies have shown that agricultural education teachers perceive a need for professional development in Career Development Events (CDEs) preparation, but they did not identify the individual CDEs where training was needed. This study examined the CDEs that Kansas schools were participating in at the district and state levels and the CDEs where teachers perceived a need for professional development. A questionnaire was administered via the Internet, and 114 teachers responded. Of the respondents, 83.33% were interested in a weeklong professional development workshop or graduate course in CDE preparation. CDEs that were identified for professional development, such as agricultural sales, agribusiness management, food science and technology, and agricultural communications were not ranked high in regard to current participation. The livestock evaluation CDE had the highest participation at the district and state levels but ranked 17th in regard to teachers’ interest in professional development. It was concluded that teachers participate in CDEs they feel comfortable with and are less likely to participate in CDEs that they feel less familiar. The study also found that most teachers used Internet resources to help prepare students for some CDEs.