Recognizing that the agriculture industry continues to have the highest worker fatality rate, a multi-year teacher professional development was conducted to improve teachers' tractor and machinery safety knowledge. The purpose of this study was to analyze participant knowledge throughout the professional development to better understand the role…

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States for all workers, and even more so for young workers. In the U.S., legislation prescribes training for youth under the age of 16 working in hazardous situations in production agriculture. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has become an increasingly popular means of deploying…

Agricultural mechanics--a pillar of many secondary agricultural education programs--is a dynamic, constantly changing field, requiring educators to continually evolve their programs to maintain relevance. This study explored the in-service agricultural mechanics needs of Montana mid-career agricultural educators. We used mean weighted discrepancy…

A priority of agricultural teacher education programs is to develop technically competent, prepared school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers. SBAE teachers should be knowledgeable in various agricultural subject matter, such as agricultural mechanics. Using Roberts and Ball's (2009) Content-based Model for Teaching Agriculture as the…

Preservice teacher candidates in agricultural education have expressed concerns with teaching agricultural mechanics content yet the number of required courses in agricultural mechanics has dwindled. To determine the root of current teachers' perceptions, it is important to look at the developmental experiences that have led to those perceptions.…

This study was designed to assess the agricultural engineering knowledge and competencies acquired by the senior secondary students for farm mechanization in technical colleges in Ebonyi state of Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. Three research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The population of the…

Rural youth in poverty stricken Appalachian communities are the highest at-risk population for tractor rollover accidents (Cole, 2007). The Apprenticeship of Observation theory (Lortie, 1975) concludes that the "apprentice" learns from watching those perceived to be the teacher and their work and so mimic their actions. Thus, farm youth…

Agricultural mechanics coursework has historically been considered an important and necessary construct of the secondary agricultural education curriculum (Burris, Robinson, & Terry, 2005). With expectations of offering secondary agricultural mechanics coursework apparent, it is vital that agricultural education teachers be prepared to address…

For more than 20 years, the 50 agricultural mechanics laboratory management competencies identified by Johnson and Schumacher in 1989 have served as the basis for numerous needs assessments of secondary agriculture teachers. This study reevaluated Johnson and Schumacher's instrument, as modified by Saucier, Schumacher, Funkenbusch, Terry, and…

The purpose of this study was to empirically test the hypothesis that students who participated in a contextualized, mathematics-enhanced high school agricultural power and technology curriculum and aligned instructional approach would not experience significant diminishment in acquisition of technical skills related to agricultural power and…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…