The Benefits Of Teaching And Learning About Agriculture In Elementary And Junior High Schools

Abstract

The beliefs and mental images that teachers have about agriculture likely influence what and how they integrate agriculture into their instruction.The purpose of this action research study was to explore the beliefs and needs of elementary and junior high school teachers in regard to integrating agriculture into their classrooms.The sample consisted of 452 teachers from public schools inIllinois.Teachers responded to three, open-ended questions regarding their beliefs of the most beneficial aspects and needs of teaching and learning about agriculture.Teachers believed that agriculture provided situatedness, connectedness, and authenticity to teach their content areas to their students.Teachers also shared topics and instructional resources that they wanted to know more about regarding the integration of agriculture.The findings from this study can inform agricultural literacy coordinators and agricultural teacher educators regarding inservice programming for integrating agriculture into classrooms.