Agricultural education is responsible for preparing future generations to advance agriculture in a rapidly changing world. How can agricultural education best prepare students to be innovative problem-solvers who can keep up with these changes? Perhaps educators can create learning experiences that allow students to uncover material through their…

Planning theories suggest a stepwise structure for organizing programs; evaluate current status with a needs assessment, identify strengths, weaknesses or gaps, use tools such as a logic model to plan, then implement and evaluate programming (Kettner et al., 2017). The National Agriculture in the Classroom organization and its state affiliates…

Rural leadership development has been a field with a long, varied history. Despite this, Black rural leadership development programs have been almost non-existent. In response, this investigation explored the effectiveness of a cooperative extension program called Learning Everyday About Development (LEAD), designed and facilitated by an 1890…

Earning a bachelor's degree has been documented as a potential social equalizer in American society. Yet, it has also been documented that first-generation college students (FGCS) have incongruently accessed and earned college degrees. This phenomenon has potentially perpetuated life-long differences in social outcomes in American society. As…

This qualitative study sought to answer the question: How do female agricultural education undergraduates describe their self-efficacy to teach agricultural mechanics? In response, we conducted a case study of female agricultural education majors (n=5) who enrolled in an Introduction to Agricultural Mechanics course. After multiple rounds of…

Agriculturalists can be divided into broad ideological camps with differing value sets. While many different groups exist, there are two primary ideological groups: (1) conventional or agrarian populists and (2) nonconventional or neo-agrarians. Agricultural education students' values about agriculture shape how they will work in their future…

Perhaps one of the most formalized ways that 4-H has fostered agricultural innovation and practical education has been through their outdoor youth education program, more commonly known as 4-H Camp. Although 4-H Camps were first created for local clubs, camping events soon expanded to the state and national levels. In fact, three years after…

Offering core academic credits (e.g., math, science) for completing agriculture, food, and natural resources (AFNR) coursework at the secondary school level has the potential to increase the strength of the AFNR program as well as student interdisciplinary learning. Informed by the Career and Technical Education Student Typology, we explored the…

A nationwide standardized curricular resource does not exist for school-based agricultural education. Teachers rely on several resources to develop instruction for students. Pedagogical Design Capacity (PDC) examines teachers' capacity to perceive and mobilize existing resources to develop instructional episodes. The purpose of the study was to…

Small farms and small farmers are a growing sector of the agricultural economy nationwide. Notably, small farms are influenced by similar antagonists to the success of their business as large, concentrated operations, but they experience it differently. The purpose of this study was to describe small farms and farmers in North Dakota to assist…

Creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all students with disabilities within school-based agricultural education (SBAE) is important to ensure students receive opportunities. This study explored the experiences that SBAE teachers associated with providing special education and related services for students with disabilities in all…

Volunteers have always been essential to the success of 4-H youth development programs. However, the number of available volunteers has declined. Although this decline is not new, it is imperative to recruit and retain adult volunteers for youth programming. Researchers sought to describe characteristics of current Texas volunteers and identify…

This study sought to describe agriculture and natural resources (ANR) opinion leaders' ethical orientations by illuminating how they determine what is right/wrong or good/bad when making decisions that impact the ANR industry. ANR leaders' ethical perspectives impact decisions regarding complex critical issues and influence others' behavior. We…

This study sought to understand Extension Education's trends and research needs as perceived by members of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) and Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) by comparing and contrasting findings from questionnaires using open-ended questions. Both groups identified changing technology…

4-H provides unique opportunities for youth to experience new things and prepare for their future. The purpose of this study was to examine how 4-H has influenced participant career trajectories. Data were collected using the Delphi method to produce a list of 70 unique items. There were 46 of 70 items that received 90-100% consensus in the final…