Examining the Common Core State Standards in Agricultural Education

Abstract

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent a shift in the American education system. Included in the CCSS are opportunities for agriculture teachers to integrate math and English language arts content into their curriculum. Using the theory of planned behavior, we sought to identify Oregon agriculture teachers’ attitudes, familiarity with, current level of integration, and professional development needs related to the Common Core State Standards. Our research identified the majority of responding teachers were somewhat familiar with the CCSS. Additionally, teachers had varying levels of agreement that the CCSS would help their teaching, yet the majority of agriculture teachers in our study reported they had somewhat implemented the CCSS. In an effort to identify the professional development needs of teachers concerning these standards, we used the CCSS to develop 11 needs assessment competencies related to math, reading, and writing. Respondents identified the highest professional development need areas in topics related to developing students’ abilities to write and do mathematics problems in the context of agriculture. These findings are discussed using the theory of planned behavior; recommendations for practice and future research are also highlighted.