Teaching Values In Agricultural Education

This study determined perceptions of agricultural education teachers nationwide as to what values should be taught to students enrolled in high school agriscience courses. The population was secondary agricultural teachers who taught in public secondary schools in the United States during I99 7-98. Most of the teachers were middle-aged, white males who taught agriculture for an average of 14 years. The average school size where these agriculture teachers taught was 750 students, andenrollment in agriculture represented nearly 20% of the total school population. Agriculture teachers agreed that the 21 values identified in this study were important characteristics that should be taught to youngpeople studying high school agriculture. They perceived the most important values were responsibility, honesty, courtesy, and respect. Although agriculture teachers perceived the FFA as the best component for teaching values, a number of values can be taught in the classroom, laboratory, and Supervised Agricultural Experience program. Teachers tended to agree on the importance of the 21 values regardless of teacher characteristics. In general, teachers who perceived they exhibited a certain behavior tended to have a positive perception toward including that value (or a related one) in the agricultural education curriculum. Introduction/Theoretical Framework From the early 20th century to the present, heavy emphasis has been placed on the moral aspects of teaching (Kimball, 199 1). Chang (1994) and Clark (199 1) are among many who see the school as the most relevant change agent in the battle for improved morality in the United States. Chang notes that the school is more than just a building; rather it is a body of learners and educators set in an environment of inquiry and development. She emphasizes the influence teachers have on the moral development of students is tremendous, and the “importance of ethics in teaching cannot be overstated’ (p. 71). Clark states that “to educate is to lead responsibly by influencing students’ knowledge, skills and dispositions in ways that will serve them and their society well and to do so in morally defensible ways” (pp. 257-258). Educators have realized for some time that Journal of Agricultural Education what a student accomplishes depends upon his/her attitude, philosophy and value judgments. Educators must recognize that students will possess a value system and it is part of the learning process to help students develop and utilize their individual system (Pullias & Lockhart, 1963). According to the Handbook on Agricultural Education in Public Schools (Phipps & Osborne, 1988), teachers of agriculture must possess unquestionable character as it is essential to be a successful teacher. Phipps and Osborne (1988) state this is a necessity because many students will try to emulate their agricultural instructors and consequently what teachers do must be of the highest standard. Above all, teachers must remember that their primary role in the public schools is to nurture and contribute to the educational, social, and personal development of people. Agriscience teachers must be able to demonstrate a sincere interest in the needs and accomplishments of each student. They continue by saying that even the most difficult students will 74 Vol. 40, No. 11999 respond if provided with encouragement and have a teacher who will strive to build positive selfconcepts in students. Great strides are being made in incorporating moral education into the whole school environment, including the agricultural education curriculum. However, the instruction of moral education is not clearly defined in the current American educational system. Recent studies by Irwin (1988), Cheek and Parker (1994), and Cangemi and Aucoin (1992) reviewed methods of teaching values in the classroom. While the studies agreed that value education should be part of the formal curriculum, they did not agree on the best method of delivery. In summary, the review of literature emphasized the following points: (1) there was a need to teach values to high school students; (2) the teaching strategies for incorporating the teaching of morals and values in secondary agricultural science needed to be identified; (3) literature showed there was a discrepancy as to what values are and what values should be taught; and (4) there was no existing study in agricultural education addressing the subject ofteachingvalues and morals in the secondary agricultural education