Administrative management and perceived importance of agriculture work experience programs at two-year post-secondary institutions of Iowa

The study was designed to analyze the perceptions of students, faculty members, and cooperating employers about the value of two-year post-secondary agriculture work experience programs in Iowa. It also aimed at analyzing administrator perceptions about selected aspects of administrative management of these programs;For the survey of perceptions, a stratified random sample was drawn comprising 183 respondents which included 100 students in agricultural production and agribusiness programs, 50 cooperating employers, and 33 faculty members at six Iowa two-year post-secondary institutions. These respondents were asked to rate 40 items of importance of work experience education on a scale of 1 to 9. For the administrative management portion of the study, all 15 agriculture program administrators at Iowa area colleges were personally interviewed with the help of a questionnaire;Analysis of respondent perceptions revealed that students, employers, as well as faculty members, considered agriculture work experience highly important by assigning ratings which averaged well above the midpoint on a nine-point scale. Significant differences were found on 11 out of 40 items of importance among the respondent perceptions with higher means assigned by students on 8 out of these 11 items. Significant differences in administrator perceptions were found on 9 out of 12 teacher-coordinator duties in terms of their current and desired emphasis and on 10 out of 20 management activities in terms of their level of importance and level of implementation;It was recommended that agriculture programs be tailored toward the needs, interests, and aspirations of students with appropriate modifications for students in different programs and with different job goals. Appointment of more qualified teacher-coordinators and a reconsideration of the prioritization of their duties were suggested. Management activities of planning program goals and organizing in-service programs for teacher-coordinators demanded more emphasis. Further research on various administrative aspects of two-year post-secondary agriculture work experience programs in Iowa was recommended