PRESERVICE AGRICULTURE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CAREER BARRIERS AND SUPPORT

This descriptive study examined the perceptions of career barriers and support of preservice agriculture teachers and determined if gender differences existed. A convenience sample of 262 preservice agriculture teachers representing 42 different institutions was selected during the fall of 2004. Data were collected from 215 respondents using a survey instrument administered by teacher educators at 35 institutions from across the nation. Reliability analysis yielded alpha coefficients ranging from .86 to .91 on the researcher developed questionnaire. Results showed participants were primarily Caucasian, grew up in a rural area, and were considering agricultural education as a first career. Participants perceived the likelihood of career barriers and the difficulty of overcoming those barriers to be low and their level of career support to be high. The issues most likely to become a barrier and most difficult to overcome were found to pertain to family responsibilities and relationships, desire to live in a certain area, and an unwillingness to move away. Participants perceived the most support from their teacher educators, agriculture teachers and cooperating/mentor teachers. No statistical or practical differences were found between the perceptions of career barriers and career support for female and male participants.