Secondary school teachers perceptions regarding the process of teaching sustainable agriculture in the agricultural education curriculum

The purpose of this study was to determine perceptions held by high school teachers of agriculture in the North Central Region of the U.S. regarding teaching sustainable agriculture in the agriculture curriculum. This region is comprised of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.;The specific objectives for this study were to: (1) identify perceptions of teachers regarding teaching sustainable agriculture, (2) identify the extent to which selected sustainable agriculture skills and knowledge were being taught, (3) identify the extent to which inservice training is needed in selected areas of sustainable agriculture, (4) identify demographic characteristics and their relationship with selected perceptions, and (5) develop a model inservice education program for teachers of agricultural education.;The study utilized a descriptive research design with a self-administered questionnaire to collect data. The population consisted of all secondary school agriculture teachers in the twelve states of the North Central Region of the United States. The population for the study consisted of 2395 teachers as listed in the Agricultural Educator\u27s Directory, 2000. A randomly selected sample size of 600 was used, with a usable return rate of 246.;The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Program. Out of the 246 respondents, 199(81%) were males and 47(19%) were females. Agriculture teachers in this study generally supported the concepts related to teaching sustainable agriculture, infusion of sustainable agriculture into the curriculum and the use of a variety of instructional methods to teach sustainable agriculture.;The respondents indicated that they needed more information and instructional materials regarding sustainable agriculture. The teachers indicated a need for inservice educational programs that would help them teach sustainable agriculture. The major topics perceived to be priority areas contributing to an understanding of sustainable agriculture included soil erosion control, soil testing, soil conservation, environmental protection and profitability