EVALUATION OF THE INCUBATORS IN THE CLASSROOM PROGRAM: DOES IT INCREASE FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS ’ AND TEACHERS ’ KNOWLEDGE ABOUT AGRICULTURAL PROFESSIONS?

The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of agricultural literacy materials designed for the Incubators in the Classroom program used in Indiana fourth grade classrooms. This article reports on the study objectives: determine the impact of the educational materials on fourth grade students ’ and teachers ’ knowledge level of agricultural professions and identify fourth grade students ’ perceptions and opinions of agricultural careers and their possible career plans. Effectiveness of the educational materials was measured through a pretest-posttest research design on Indiana fourth grade school children (n=736) and their respective teachers (n=39). The sample of students and teachers was divided into treatment and control groups. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires. The findings indicated the educational materials developed and assessed for this study were effective in increasing knowledge of agricultural professions among both the treatment group students and teachers. The treatment group students were significantly more likely to see agricultural careers as interesting and exciting