TEACHERS ’ PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE

The purpose of this study was to ascertain agriculture and non-agriculture teachers ’ perceptions of the factors affecting Mississippi’s Information Technology Workforce (ITW). A three-round, modified Delphi procedure was used to collect the perceptions of 24 agricultural science and business/biology teachers regarding factors affecting the information technology workforce. Twenty-one teachers completed all three rounds of this study. After an initial set of 45 factors was generated, participants strongly agreed that 11 of the factors are very important factors affecting Mississippi’s information technology workforce. Most of the factors dealt with either training or equipment issues. The factors identified by teachers are congruent with findings from the Mississippi Department of Education (2000) and the Mississippi Economic Council (2000). Recommendations include placing more emphasis on information technology concepts into preservice and inservice programs, obtaining and maintaining information technologies comparable to that used in industry, and forging relationships with business and industry to provide on-the-job training opportunities for individuals pursuing information technology careers