Is agriculture being implemented in private school classrooms? The impact of teacher willingness and availability of resources.

Agricultural literacy has been a topic of concern as most of the population have little to no understanding of agriculture, and the impact it has on society. Agricultural literacy can be defined as “having knowledge and understanding of agriculturally related scientific and technologically based concepts and processes required for personal decision making” (Meischen & Trexler, 2003, p.44). Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the significance of agricultural literacy beginning with elementary aged children and continuing through high school. The majority of studies conducted focus on public school students and teachers. This has led to a gap in the knowledge of students’ agricultural literacy in private schools. There are few studies that indicate if agriculture is being taught in private schools, subsequently there is little known about private school teachers’ willingness to incorporate agriculture into their classrooms. To improve agricultural literacy, it is necessary to place an emphasis on agricultural education