Teacher Beliefs and the Extent to Which Sustainable Agriculture Is Taught in High School

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between agriculture teachers' beliefs about sustainable agriculture and the extent to which teachers taught topics in sustainable agriculture. A random sample of 844 teachers in the north central region of the United States was sent questionnaires. Teachers' beliefs regarding sustainable agriculture explained no variance in the extent to which teachers taught selected sustainable agriculture topics. However, teachers' perceptions of selected agriculture practices uniquely explained only 1% of variance. Future research on beliefs regarding sustainable agriculture may rely more on understanding teachers' perceptions of sustainable agriculture practices than teachers' sustainable agriculture beliefs.

Keywords:

• sustainable agriculture
• agriculture curriculum
• agricultural practices
• sustainable agriculture practices
• sustainable systems

Acknowledgments

This article is a product of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, Project No. 3613 and was sponsored by the Hatch Act and State of Iowa. We thank Jennifer Krueger and Jonathan Brunt for their help in reviewing the final draft of this manuscript.