Elementary educators perception of agritourism as a curriculum enhancer

The purpose of this study was to analyze elementary educators understanding of agritourism venues and assess their perception of these venues as a curriculum enhancing tool. This was an important area of investigation given the number of educational agritourism venues emphasizing critical agricultural and science concepts aimed at elementary age students. The results revealed that the majority of the teachers in this study average just under 15 years of experiences, teach a range of elementary grades, have experienced field trips as students, and have moderate knowledge of agritourism field trip options. To address research question two, results were reported for each elementary teachers ranking of their own knowledge and awareness of field trips to agritourism venues in several categories. Questions were also asked to determine perceived attributes (complexity, relative advantage, compatibility) of the elementary teachers concerning agritourism as a form of education. Keywords: agritourism, elementary educators, curriculum enhancers, agricultur