Teacher attrition among women in secondary agricultural education

Although women have enjoyed majority status as teachers in most disciplines, they are under-represented in secondary agricultural education (AGED). To better understand female under-representation within agricultural education, this study used Grissmer and Kirby’s (1987) theory of teacher attrition to investigate the career-related experiences of female preservice students in the agriculture education department at Oklahoma State University and AGED teachers within Oklahoma using a mixed-method case study design. It was found that, although the women were well prepared to teach and had contextually rich experiences in AGED, only a fraction of the women who entered the preservice program successfully gained employment as AGED teachers. Reasons for attrition included a lack of commitment to teaching AGED, being place-bound, and gender bias from school administrators. To reduce attrition, women desiring to teach AGED and those already in the field need support from university faculty, state staff, and school administrators in regard to challenges they face in nontraditional careers to increase specific human capital and a commitment to the profession