In recent years, Animal Science demographics have been shifting from many students having an abundance of animal experience towards a majority of students having little to no prior animal experience. It's important to note this demographic shift and to consider how this shift could be impacting student mental health. Throughout a semester long…

The 'home project' concept, now known as a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), has been a cornerstone of School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) for 100+ years. This experiential element of SBAE provides students with authentic and relevant experiences to enhance the learning process. While agricultural educators throughout the U.S. agree…

Experiential learning is widely used at the post-secondary level, but it requires intentional curricular planning, and proper facilitation from the instructor. The effects of experiential learning in agricultural education settings at the higher education level have not been tested extensively. Therefore, additional examination is needed to inform…

Farmed animal sanctuaries provide lifelong care to formerly farmed animals. Many strive to educate their community about farmed animals and promote more compassionate lifestyles, such as veganism. Important to this is cultivating empathy and concern for the well-being of individual farmed animals. Essential to well-being is agency, which is the…

School-based agricultural education offers a rich context to illuminate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Understanding and enhancing STEM learning within agricultural education requires a deep understanding of how agricultural educators currently illuminate STEM concepts within their curriculum. Building upon the work of…

Teachers may be hesitant to implement STEM-based agriculture programs due to their perceived low self-efficacy in the subject area. More deliberate professional development resources for educators can be refined by understanding how their beliefs impact students' learning and interest. The objective of this study was to determine how teachers'…

Preparing college students with the skills to engage in multidisciplinary problem solving, especially as it relates to the wicked problems of agriculture, has been called for by scholars for nearly two decades (UNFAO, 2006; Boyer, 1998; NRC 1998). Our nation's Land Grants, with the mission to provide practical education, and particularly…

Career Development Events (CDEs) have been part of the National FFA Organization since its beginning and are still an integral component of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs. A priority of the organization is to "Expand equitable opportunities for all students to develop their potential for premier leadership, personal…

The lack of real-life experiences, such as handling livestock at a production facility (e.g., ranch), exists for a variety of reasons such as availability, liability, time, and cost, amongst others. As more students enter undergraduate animal science programs without prior exposure to animal handling, the necessity for more hands-on, real-life…

Agricultural education is critical in addressing complex problems around food and agriculture systems. One such method for educating citizens about agriculture is postsecondary agricultural education programming. Specifically, experiential learning is widely used at the post-secondary level to achieve powerful, goal-oriented, academic learning.…

Technology Mandatory (Tech Mandatory) is a compulsory subject for New South Wales (NSW) Stage 4 students and aims to engage students in production and design activities applicable to Agriculture and Food Technologies (AFT), Digital Technologies (DT), Engineered Systems and Material Technologies. The GPS Cows Module, an agricultural education…

Purpose: Integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) can foster agroecological transitions. However, knowledge on how extension services influence such systems is still lacking. The manuscript analyzes ICLS advisors' perceptions of the conditions toward recoupling crops and livestock at the farm level. Methodology/Approach: We conducted and analyzed…

In addition to stimulating interest through experiential means, educators can support interest development through structured reflection. Our randomized controlled intervention study assessed the effectiveness of 10-minute written utility-value reflections designed to enhance the interest of introductory animal science students. During the Spring…

Despite the critical role of agriculture and fisheries in the Philippines' economy and food security, enrolment in related educational programs remains low compared to more commercially popular fields. Our study explores the motivational factors influencing Filipino senior high school students' decisions to pursue higher education degrees in…

Using a mixed model, we evaluated effects of national 4-H hippology and livestock skillathon contests on youths' content knowledge, 21st century skills, and postsecondary plans. Hippology participants gained significant knowledge in all topics except breeds, and livestock skillathon contestants gained significant knowledge in all topics. The…