Entry–level Technical Skills that Teachers ExpectedStudents to Learn through Supervised AgriculturalExperiences (SAEs): A Modified Delphi Study

摘要

Supervised experiences are designed to provide opportunities for the hands–on learning of skills andpractices that lead to successful personal growth and future employment in an agricultural career(Talbert, Vaughn, Croom, & Lee, 2007). In the Annual Report for Agricultural Education (2005–2006),it was stated that 91% of the respondents (i.e., students) indicated they did not have an SAE. This findingwas not surprising entirely because some scholars and practitioners of agricultural education havereported empirically and anecdotally that the SAE component of the model was perhaps losing ground inmany agricultural education programs (Dyer & Osborne, 1995; Wilson & Moore, 2006). The decline indelivery of this component of the model has implications regarding agricultural education’s role in thepreparation of students for entry–level jobs in the agricultural industry. This study used a modifiedDelphi technique to coalesce the views of an expert panel of agricultural education teachers on the roleof SAEs in preparing students for entry–level careers in the agricultural industry. In some instances, thelearning experiences being taught in secondary agricultural education may not be congruent with today’sagricultural industry standards. This incongruence may be contributing to the decline in students whoparticipate actively in SAEs.