Perceptions of secondary school agriculture teachers in the North Central Region of the U.S. regarding sustainable agriculture: implications to curriculum development in agricultural education

The major purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of secondary school agriculture teachers in the North Central Region of the US regarding sustainable agriculture, the extent to which they teach the subject in their curriculum, and the use, credibility, and benefits of selected information sources. A secondary purpose was to develop a model to guide the integration of sustainable agriculture subject matter into the curriculum. Overall, the teachers had positive perceptions and a basic understanding of sustainable agriculture practices. Teachers in this study expressed the desire to incorporate more of the subject into their curriculum if their needs regarding provision of adequate information, instructional aids and materials, and training were met. The respondents indicated that sustainable agriculture was economically viable.;The findings in this study indicated that teachers included sustainable agriculture subject matter in their instructional programs to a moderate extent. Some of the topics that were taught included soil testing, soil erosion, and crop rotations. The following topics were not being taught to any great extent reduced use of chemicals, reduced use of fertilizers, and herbicide-resistant crops. Teachers perceived that farmers used the following sources to gain information about sustainable agriculture: magazines, neighbors. friends, family members, local chemical and fertilizer dealers. However, university specialists were rated as the most credible sources of information. Other credible sources of information included tours, magazines and friends.;The sources given the least ratings on credibility were television and radio programs, commodity promotion boards, newspapers, machinery dealers, and local seed and chemical dealers. Beneficial sources were similar to those observed for credibility. A curriculum development model was designed to assist educators to integrate sustainable agriculture subject matter into the teaching of agriculture courses. It was concluded that teachers need more training, experience, and instructional materials to enable them to help secondary school students to learn more about sustainable agricultural practices