First year agriculture education teachers in Texas were surveyed during the 1998-1999 school year. The number of first year teachers surveyed was 118 and 74 (63%) participated. Of the 74 respondents, 57 were males and 17 were females with the mean age being 27.3 years. Fifty-seven percent of the teachers taught safety and health as separate independent units of instruction while the most common type of technology used was TV/VCRs and overhead projectors. It was determined that the most useful formats for new educational materials were videotapes with study guides. Over half of the teachers (51.4%) had received CPR training and 52.8% had received first-aid training. Only 22.2% held current CPR certifications while 21.1% had current first-aid certifications. Generally, teachers have a solid understanding of safety and health issues but fail to practice what they preach. This study recommends that teacher education programs place a much higher emphasis on safety and health issues during teacher preparation. Furthermore, professional development workshops and seminars need to be implemented to help teachers develop necessary skills and educational materials that are easily useable in modern classrooms. A compilation of easy-to-use, interactive agricultural education safety education media materials needs to be developed and disseminated.

Utah agricultural education teachers were surveyed to determine their attitude towards computers and computer technologies. The study utilized the Utah Agricultural Education Teachers' Attitude Towards Computers survey developed by researchers at Utah State University. Questions for this instrument were modeled from previous work completed by the College of Education at the University of North Texas (Christensen & Knezek, 1999). Responses were received from 63 out of 82 agricultural education teachers who taught in Utah during the 2000-2001 academic school year. Using a Likert scale of 1 to 5 the Utah agricultural education teachers were asked to indicate their feelings on a 51-item statement concerning attitudes towards computers. The range of the Likert scale from 1 up to 5, with 1 being strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 undecided, 4 agree, and 5 strongly agree. Analysis of individual survey items revealed that the top three most "strongly agreed" items were: "Knowing how to use a computer is a worthwhile skill," "It is very important for me to learn how to use a computer," and "Learning about computers is worthwhile." The statements receiving the lowest means and indicated that the respondents "disagreed" with the statement were: "I do as little work as possible using a computer," "I do not enjoy talking with others about computers," and "I don't understand how some people can spend so much time working with computers and seem to enjoy it." Utah agricultural education teachers indicated a positive attitude towards computers and computer technologies. Teachers also indicated that most of them had access to a computer in their department or in their classroom. However, the teachers indicated that they rarely accessed computers and computer technologies in their occupations. All of the agricultural education teachers indicated that they never required students to complete homework assignments on a daily or weekly basis. Utah agricultural education teachers indicated that equipment shortages and monetary reasons were the two most limiting factors in allowing them to integrate technology into the classroom. Utah agricultural education teachers may not be using computers and computer technology more frequently may be due to old computers, old software and/or outdated computer skills.

The purpose of this study was to gather benchmark data for the assessment of the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding agricultural safety issues and curricula held by Texas agricultural teachers with less than two full years of teaching experience (entry-year teachers). Seventy-four of 118 well-distributed teachers responded to this survey. Researchers concluded that more females were entering a traditionally male-dominated field. Overall, teachers addressed safety within units of instruction rather than as separate units. The most useful forms of new teaching resources that this group of teachers would like to see produced were safety videos and study guides, and class demonstration/simulation activities. There was a significant difference in rankings between teachers less than 26 years old and teachers more than 26 years old regarding the usefulness of transparencies as a new teaching resource (F = 5.00, p = 0.0268). Few teachers were currently CPR and first aid certified, even though most had received training and completed a general safety and/or health related course while in college. Teachers generally agreed philosophically with most practices and exhibited personal beliefs consistent with proper safety preparedness and practice in agricultural settings. However, many of these teachers failed to practice what was expected of safe tractor operators, such as wearing safety belts and allowing younger drivers to operate the equipment.

Agricultural education programs in public schools serve many purposes including educational enrichment, experiences in responsibility, self-motivation and teamwork, as well as instruction in technical agriculture. In these programs students are exposed to safety hazards commonly experienced in agricultural operations. With the overwhelming burden placed on administrators the issue of safety in agriculture programs is largely ignored. In this study one hundred agricultural education programs in Texas were randomly selected for geographic and school size diversity. Ninety-four of the programs were visited by the investigators, using a researcher developed checklist. The facility inspections and teacher interviews covered twelve different areas concerning the agricultural education safety program. The checklist provide for a consistent basis for focusing on the purpose of the study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the administration and safety instruction of agricultural education programs within Texas. The findings are: (1) Of the ninety-four schools surveyed a majority (95.6%) offer agricultural mechanics classes in a shop/laboratory environment. Of the teachers interviewed (78), the investigators found that a majority were male teachers and all had some formal training in safety either in college related courses or from an industry experience. However, only 27.3% of the teachers reported had chemical handling training/certification. (2) Although the majority of the programs relied on the teacher for facility inspections only sixty (78.9%) indicated that accident reports were completed and safety issues documented. Overall, in the area of administrative procedures the majority of the schools surveyed did not have or follow only very basic steps to reduce the likelihood of injury in their facilities. (3) In the area of safety instruction the schools appeared to do much better. Over ninety percent of the programs used safety exams, teacher and student demonstrations and documented safety instruction in lesson plans. A disturbing issue is that only 78.9 percent of the programs required mastery of safety by the students and even fewer utilized other avenues for safety instruction or documented the students efforts in mastery. With the burden of facility management on the agricultural teacher they must be provided the administrative support to effectively manage and teach safety. In general the teachers fail to develop a total culture of safety and hazard elimination within their programs. These findings and conclusions will guide a future research design in the development of a behavior based safety model for implementation in the agricultural education classroom.

Agricultural educators have developed ideas and been provided opportunities to address agricultural literacy concerns as outlined in the 1988 National Research Council (NRC) report on the status of agricultural education in the United States. At the time, the NRC concluded teachers were generally unaware of how to secure better agricultural literacy materials or receive help in the use of available instructional materials. Swortzel (1996) and others have suggested education leaders across the nation develop and implement plans to support school instruction about the scientific, economic, and public health aspects of agriculture. Many teachers welcome new materials to support class instruction, including those relating to agriculture. Terry, Herring, and Larke (1992) found that a great number of Texas fourth grade teachers were interested in available resources to assist them in teaching about agriculture, however the researchers also suggested that for teachers to better utilize such resources the availability of these resources must be increased. Through a W.K. Kellogg Foundation research grant, support was provided for the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy Project (FFSLP). The overall project goal was to develop a FFSL framework that included learning standards and grade level appropriate benchmarks that assist in developing agricultural knowledge in youth (Leising, Igo, Heald, Hubert, and Yamamoto, 1998). Additional support materials were also to be compiled for electronic dissemination, outlined specifically in Objective Seven of the FFSLP (Leising, 1995). The objective was to "develop an

Agricultural mechanics classes remain a popular choice for agricultural education students. These courses often comprise up to one-third of classes taught by agriculture teachers and continue to include traditional curricula despite growing discussion for utilizing more physical science-based curricula. Research has shown those teachers new to or preparing for the agriculture teaching profession often express anxiety for and a lack of preparedness to teach agricultural mechanics subject matter. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preservice agricultural mechanics components of agriculture teacher education programs in the United States. States. Fifty-nine agriculture teacher education programs were identified to accomplish the objectives of this descriptive study. These programs accounted five or more newly certified agriculture teachers annually during the academic years 1992-1994. Forty-six (78%) of the 59 programs responded to a mail questionnaire seeking to identify courses offered to support agricultural mechanics teacher preparation. Results and Conclusions: Approximately two (2) three semester-credit-hour courses were generally required in agricultural mechanics to meet teacher certification requirements. In addition, 1.3 semester-credit-hours in agricultural mechanics teaching methods were required. From course syllabi collected, content offered in required agricultural mechanics courses reflected traditional agricultural mechanics subject matter. Most agriculture teacher education programs utilized instructors who have substantial knowledge in the areas of both agricultural education and agricultural mechanics to teach required agricultural mechanics courses. The departments in which these instructors teach reflected the changes in the agricultural industry as evidenced by the integrated titles of these departments. This may indicate a willingness to expand the content of required agricultural mechanics preservice courses to reflect these changes in agriculture.

Agricultural education programs have responsibilities to prepare students for both further study within the field or provide opportunities to develop skills needed to support entry-level employment in one of the many sectors within the food and fiber systems industry. As with many physical labor positions employees must utilize safe workplace practices. These practices are often learned through pre-employment training, such as an agricultural education program. Studies have indicated agriculture teachers do not receive adequate training, feel comfortable with teaching safety, or maintain current teaching resources to sufficiently instruct their students in proper practices. The purpose of this study was to determine the general preparedness of Texas agriculture teachers regarding safety and health education in agriculture and their perceptions of teaching resources available for use in their classrooms. Using a census of entry year Texas agriculture teachers (N=118), teachers' preservice safety and health preparation and training were reviewed in addition to soliciting perspectives on available safety and health curricula, usage and practices. Responding teachers (n=74; 57 males, 17 females) were well distributed throughout the state both by FFA region and school enrollment size. A majority of respondents indicated they taught safety within units of instruction rather than as separate, individual units. Teachers indicated a variety of teaching technologies available for classroom usage, however the most useful safety materials they utilized were videotapes with an accompanying study guide. There was also a preference for simulations and demonstrations and individual student booklets. Few indicated a strong usefulness for slides, transparencies or interactive media. General safety and health training received during preservice education was lacking with these entry year teachers although greater than 50 percent of the teachers had been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid (20 percent currently certified). Industry also imparted many teachers with additional safety and health training experience. From a teaching resource perspective, an unexpectedly large percentage of teachers had computers with CD-ROMs and Internet access, as well as the traditional equipment in slide projectors, televisions and VCRs available. Even though teachers had access to modern computer technology, there was a common aversion for using interactive media or Internet as teaching tools. It was recommended that agriculture teacher education programs address the under representation of training regarding safety and health education and improve corresponding teaching materials. Additionally, increased efforts should be made to provide preservice teachers with an appreciation for safe work procedures in order for students to understand and follow safe work practices.