Student Teaching Internship Experiences and Perceived Success of First-Year School Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) Teachers

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived influence of student teaching internship experiences on the perceived success of school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers in their first year of teaching. An explanatory mixed-methods design was utilized to gather the both qualitative and quantitative data. Census sampling was used to select 30 SBAE teachers teaching within high schools in Arkansas. The researcher collected quantitative data using an adapted questionnaire and online interviews to collect qualitative data. Males (n = 12, 54.6 %) dominate as first-year agriculture teachers. Most teachers (n = 15, 68.2 %) graduated with a major in agricultural education, and a majority of schools (n = 14, 63.6 %) are rural-based. During student teaching internship, SBAE teachers perceived to be more successful in handling FFA duties (M = 3.24, SD = 0.91), less successful in handling SAE duties (M = 2.99, SD = 1.05), and almost equal success in handling classroom teaching duties (M = 3.65, SD = 0.65), than in the first year of the teaching career. Female agriculture teachers were more successful in conducting SAE (M = 3.17, SD = 0.98) and classroom teaching duties (M = 3.79, SD = 0.59) while male teachers performed slightly successful in FFA duties (M = 3.27, SD = 1.04). A negative correlation (r = -.03) was observed between perceptions of success in handling FFA duties student teaching and the first year of teaching showed. The teachers perceived a negligible relationship (r = .07) between perceived success in handling SAE duties during student teaching and the first year of teaching. A moderate relationship (r = .42) existed in perceived success of handling classroom teaching, and the perceived success within the first year of teaching agriculture. The interviewed teachers attributed their perceived success within their first year to collaborative efforts with colleagues, mentor teacher support, student-teacher relationship, and time management. The study generated recommendations for practice and for further research