SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE IN KENTUCKY: CONDITION AND PERCEPTIONS

Agricultural education consists of three components: classroom instruction, FFA, and supervised agricultural experience (SAE). SAE is the experiential learning component in which students apply agricultural principles and concepts. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of Kentucky high school agriculture teachers toward the value of SAE, the quality components of SAE, and teacher satisfaction with SAE. A secondary purpose was to determine the status of SAE participation in Kentucky. This study concluded that Kentucky agriculture teachers perceive SAE as a valuable component of agricultural education. Moreover, teachers were in agreement with accepted quality standards for SAE programs, but the findings implied that other quality indicators may be valid. Furthermore, teachers were not satisfied with their SAE programs. A slight majority of students in Kentucky agricultural education programs have a SAE with the bulk of those SAEs categorized as either placement or entrepreneurship SAEs. Based on the conclusions, the author recommended that a SAE task force be created to address concerns related to SAE participation, student and teacher motivation to conduct SAE, state rewards for SAEs, and assessing the quality of SAE programs in Kentucky. KEYWORDS: Agricultura