PRESERVICE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATORS' ABILITY TO SOLVE AGRICULTURALLY RELATED MATHEMATICS PROBLEMS

The ability to apply academic skills to agriculture is increasingly important. Even so, studies have shown that students and teachers of agricultural education lack competence in solving agriculture-related mathematics problems. The purpose of this correlational study was to explain variance in the mathematical problem-solving ability of preservice agricultural educators. Findings show a lack of competence in mathematical problem-solving among the preservice agricultural educators in the study. Also, preservice educators who achieved higher scores on the problem-solving test had completed fewer college mathematics courses, were more likely to have taken advanced mathematics courses, and possessed higher ACT math scores. A previously tested approach to teaching mathematical problem-solving in the context of agriculture was recommended. Additionally, the importance of recruiting undergraduate students with the aptitude needed to apply basic math and other academic principles to agriculture was emphasized. Further research is needed to more precisely isolate the nature of the problem. Do preservice agricultural educators lack mathematics skills, or do they lack the ability to conceptualize problems and devise appropriate solutions?