Factors Influencing Enrollment In Agricultural Education Programs As Expressed By Iowa Secondary Agricultural Education Students

Secondary agricultural education students in Iowa were surveyed to determine factors that influenced their enrollment in agricultural education programs .Responses were collected from 5.5 Iowa secondary agriculture programs and I429 students .The people who most influenced the respondents to enroll in agricultural education were parents, the agriculture instructor, a friend, and a former agricultural education student .The personal and organizationalfactors which most influenced the respondents to enroll in agricultural education were personal interests, possession of a farm background and&n ofparticipating in an agriculture course .Students were most satisfied with FFA activities, contest activities, and the supervised agricultural experience program. They were least satisfied with classroom facilities, agricultural mechanics course work and leadership activities .It was recommended that Iowa agricultural educators maintain active recruitmentprograms that share information about th agricultural program with potential students, parents, school administrators and the public .They should analyze the mechanics phase of the program seeking ways to strengthen it and share information with counselors to use in their work of advising students. Perhaps no other discipline has experienced the dilemma that agricultural education at the secondary level has over the years .Seemingly, the dilemma is one of misconception based on the belief that agricultural education programs are designed to train students only for production agriculture. The notions that students with limited academic abilities can succeed in an agricultural occupation, and that agricultural education is for someone else’s child, are two frequently stated misconceptions about agricultural education (Warmbrod, 1968).