Creating a Culture that Fosters Disciplinary Literacy in Agricultural Sciences

In the discipline of agricultural science education, which is taught in 7,500 secondary schools across the country, teachers have a responsibility for contributing to students’ overall academic achievement. These interviews, conducted with five secondary agricultural science teachers, concerned teachers’ perceptions of their role in developing students’ literacy. These teachers believed that (a) reading is necessary for success in life but supplemental in agricultural sciences; (b) literacy instruction was embedded into agricultural science teaching; (c) teachers asked students to read to apply; and (d) they used authentic texts, which they often referred to as outside readings. These conclusions provide insights into avenues for which disciplinary literacy instruction in agricultural science may contribute to students’ overall academic achievement, engagement with texts, and learning from reading and literacy, as well as further the notion of disciplinary literacy.