Agricultural education, like many other disciplines, is experiencing a shortage of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers. We examined the perceptions of Pennsylvania SBAE teachers regarding extended contracts as they have been identified as a possible tool to improve recruitment and retention. The purpose of the study was to sample…

Global society has major scientific challenges to solve over the coming decades including climate change and food insecurity. Considering school-based agricultural education can play an important role in developing scientifically literate and civically engaged citizens to help address these challenges, this study sought to describe and compare…

Modern societal functions for meeting basic needs contribute to the lack of understanding many Americans have about agriculture's connection to human health and environmental quality. Consequently, this limited understanding has produced a need to measure agricultural literacy to develop programming or enhance existing agricultural educational…

In this article, occupational safety interventions for agriculture-related jobs, specifically in aquaculture, are reviewed. Maintaining quality of life and avoiding economic loss are two areas in which aquaculturists can benefit by incorporating safety protocols and interventions on their farms. The information in this article is based on farm…

Growing up in Philadelphia, Jenna Moser always wanted to be like her dad, who was a member of FFA and grew up on a farm in western Pennsylvania. She took a big step in emulating her father when she enrolled at the W. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, and became a member of FFA herself, going on to serve as president during her senior…

This study characterized perceptions of agricultural leadership programs in colleges of agriculture, food, life, human, or environmental sciences at 1,862 land-grant institutions. Objectives included describing the need for programs, studying evolution within the discipline, discussing faculty recommendations for future development, and examining…

The passage of Public Law 94-142 (the Education of All Handicapped Children Act) in 1975 established the rights of children with disabilities to a public school education in the least restrictive environment. Fifteen years later, it was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (PL 101-476, 1990), still intended to…

The Team Nutrition (TN) e-Newsletter is published periodically to share TN resources developed by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and/or by State agencies, and to share ideas for promoting healthy eating and physical activity through Team Nutrition at the State and local levels. This issue includes: (1) Materials Developed by…

The local food movement relates to the local food system that offers an alternative to the dominant industrialized food system. The hope of the local food movement is that through engagement with the local food system, participants will develop a deeper connection with the food beyond commodity perspectives, develop a social consciousness about…

Reports a survey of teachers, supervisors, and teacher educators from 240 schools and colleges in Pennsylvania to determine attitudes toward women as agriculture teachers. Findings reveal positive attitudes and it is concluded that women should be encouraged to enter the field. (JT)

Farm to school (FTS) programs have been getting more and more attention these days. FTS programs aim to increase the supply of fresh, locally grown farm products served for meals and snacks in K-12 school environments, and tend to incorporate educational and experiential components designed to increase students' understanding of and engagement…

The number of gifted students in high school vocational agriculture classes has increased four-fold in the last five years, according to a study of enrollment, methods of identification, curricular, and co-curricular and career awareness activities available to gifted students in schools offering vocational agriculture in the United States. A…

This document contains 10 papers selected for presentation at a research conference on agricultural education. The titles are as follows: "Agriculture Students and Their Problem Solving Skills" (Rollins); "Agriculture Students' Preferred Styles of Learning" (Rollins); "Identification of Curricular Strategies for Enhancing…

This project was conducted to develop a systematic approach for writing secondary production agriculture courses of study. A review of literature identified the major concerns in course development and provided a basis for the initial design of a course of study planning guide. The initial guide was written, then reviewed by the Agricultural and…

A project was designed to help beginning and experienced teachers of vocational agriculture learn and/or become current in the practice of present paravetical competencies that are needed to teach adult students. Specific objectives of the project included providing teachers with the skills necessary to teach students via laboratory demonstrations…