A behavioral profile of vocational agriculture teachers

Abstract

<p>The purpose of the study was to create a profile of the effective vocational agriculture teacher by identifying behaviors using selected teacher effectiveness criteria. The design for the study utilized descriptive survey methodology;Vocational agriculture teachers from 12 north central states served as the population for the study. A systematic sample of 330 teachers along with 220 substitute teachers were selected to participate in the study. Only substitutes needed to replace nonrespondents from the original 330 teachers were used in the study;Two instruments were developed for use in the study. One instrument, the Vo Ag Teacher Profile Survey, was used to collect data concerning the use of teacher effectiveness behaviors by respondents in their actual teaching practices. The second instrument, the Vo Ag Teacher Profile Survey: Demographic Data, was used to collect specific demographic data from selected respondents. Respondents receiving the second instrument were selected based on a total response score calculated from the forty teacher behavior statements used in the first instrument. A high and a low teacher effectiveness group was formed based on these total response scores;Major findings of the study were: (1) Vocational agriculture teachers can reliably be classified into teacher effectiveness groups based on their use of selected teacher effectiveness behaviors. (2) Vocational agriculture teachers who were classified as being highly effective used effective teacher behaviors to a high degree across the realm of teacher performance areas. (3) Demographic characteristics were found to exist which differentiated the high teacher effectiveness group members from the low teacher effective group members;A profile of the effective vocational agriculture teacher, consisting of 31 teacher behavior items and 12 demographic items, was the end product resulting from the findings of the study.</p>