Learning Preferences of Georgia Young Farmer Participants by Barry Scott Bailey A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of P hilosophy Auburn, Alabama August 3, 2013 Keywords: adult learning, FFA, Georgia Young Farmers, learning styles, Georgia Master Cattlemen, Agriculture Education Copyright 2013 by Barry Scott Bailey Approved by Brian A. Parr, Chair, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Teaching David Shannon, Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology Gordon Patterson, Assistant Professor, Agriscience Education Donald R. Mulvaney, Associate Professor of Leadership Development, Growth and Development of Farm Animals i Abstract The purposes of this quantitative descriptive and correlational study were to describe the learning preferences of Georgia Young Farmer participants and determine if significant differences exists between scores relating to visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles. A pilot study was used to correct identifiable problems with the survey instrument and to determine an estimate for external validity as to how well the study predicts agricultural learners preferences.
The responding population (N=340) included participants (291 males and 49 females) from 17 Young Farmer groups that returned questionnaires (31% of programs). The instrument was designed to yield subscale scores that indicate preferences for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles using agricultural learning situations as examples. Descriptive statistics helped to explain the types of learning experiences that the participants preferred. In comparing the three subgroups, the highest mean on a four point scale was for kinesthetic (3.13), followed by auditory (2.82) and finally visual (2.
The repeated measure within subjects analysis yielded an F test indicating a significant difference within the three learning preference means of participants (F=202. A multivariate between-subjects MANOVA was then used for research questions 2-4. The analysis applied to gender, age levels and employment showed no significant differences. During analysis, the question mean totals suggested that participants were choosing responses related to the educational setting as well as learning styles.
This led to further analysis of this data and findings are reported in Chapter 4. ii Acknowledgment I would like to thank Dr. Brian Parr for advice during the process of my study and university classes, Dr. David Shannon for sharing his knowledge of statistics without whose help this dissertation would have never been completed due to countless inquiries, Dr.
Donald Mulvaney for his suggestions in design and Dr. Gordon Patterson for his help on this project and many years of mentoring me. Also, I was honored to be able to collaborate with the State of Georgia Agriculture Education department with the permission of Mr. Chip Bridges and Dr.
I want to thank the Georgia Young Farmer Advisors that participated in the study across the state, without which this dissertation would not have been possible. Finally, I would like to thank my supportive family for help in implementing the study, especially my wife Jill who has always been my partner in my career in agricultural education. iii Table of Contents Abstract. ii List of Tables .1 Statement of Problem .6 Delimitations of the Study .6 Definitions of Terms .8 Adult Agriculture as A Part of Secondary Education.8 Program Planning in Adult Agricultural Education.
10 Adults as Learners. 12 Age, Gender and Employment. 31 Analysis of Data. 35 Descriptive Statistics of Study Sample.
35 Learning Style Preference Results. 37 Research Question One. 37 Research Question Two. 42 Research Question Three.
43 Research Question Four. 54 Design of the Study. 59 Recommendations for Future Research. 59 Recommendations for Practice.
60 Appendix 1 Site Permission Letter. 67 Appendix 2 Verbal Instructions. 68 Appendix 3 Preferred Learning Questionnaire. 69 Appendix 4 Institutional Review Board Approval Letter.
70 vi List of Tables Table 1. 50 vii Chapter 1 Introduction In 1917 Congress entered into a relationship with the states by providing federal aid to secondary education for the first time. The Smith-Hughes Act or the Vocational Act of 1917 included federal involvement in vocational education of which agricultural education was an integral part. It included language that launched a link to adult farmer education.
The act allowed for adult education program funding for training those working or preparing for work on the farm beyond the age of fourteen. Adult agricultural education that exists today is typically organized by an agriculture teacher who teaches high school agriculture. Nineteen states have organized young farmer associations. These state associations are also a part of the National Young Farmer Education Association (NYFEA, 2012).
These associations provide leadership to adult education in agriculture. However, not all teachers who maintain adult agriculture programs or provide individual adult agricultural instruction are members of a state or national organization. This study examined preferred learning styles of Georgia Young Farmer Association participants. According to the Georgia Young Farmer Association website, for 31 consecutive years, the GYFA (Georgia Young Farmer Association) has claimed the largest young farmer membership in the nation.
Agricultural education is unique in its attention to adult learning. Adult farmer training in agricultural education is not attempted by every agricultural program but when it is attempted, it is typically performed or organized by a regular classroom Agriscience teacher. The Agriculture 1 Teachers Handbook of the National FFA Organization (2010) gives a recommendation for a classroom teacher to affiliate the local program with the NYFEA, but there are no requirements cited. In essence, organized adult classes in agricultural education in many states are somewhat voluntary by the teacher.
According to Birkenholz and Maricle (1991), “Clearly, there is significant variability among the states with regard to the level, source, and recipients of funding support for adult education in agriculture. There was widespread agreement that every agricultural education program should have an adult component” (p. Since the young farmer teacher or regular secondary agricultural teacher that teaches adults is expected to present and/or organize educational classes and activities for farmers, it is important to determine the best teaching methods for presenting these programs to adults. In 1996, Carpentier and Iverson saw a need to acquire information for program planning.
“Furthermore, since the typical member is known to have certain characteristics, the NYFEA should examine the curricular needs for both family and agricultural education delivery systems and farm business development. Finally, these data should be used to evaluate current programs and to aid in planning new programs for the NYFEA, in order to better serve the membership” (p. Program planning that will effectively educate the adult farmer participant is the goal of this study. In another study it was determined: that learning methods and practices that more actively involved learners in acquiring, using, and evaluating new knowledge and practice had the most positive consequences.
Results also showed that the adult learning methods were most effective when used with 2 a small number of learners where the learning experience occurred for 10 or more hours (Trivette, Dunst, Hamby, & O’Herin, 2009, p. Agricultural educators should look at ways that best educate their constituents. Programs may be presented in a way that is convenient or comfortable for the teacher. Stitt-Gohdes (2001) related that "research supports the concept that most teachers teach the way they learn" (p.
Since there is a tremendous amount of time and energy spent to attract farmers to training and educational experiences, there is a need to discover what method is best for presenting information. Much has been written about theories of the way adults learn. Malcolm Knowles resurrected an old German educational term called andragogy, to convey how an adult learns. Andragogy is based upon six essential hypotheses concerning the attributes of adult learners (Knowles, Swanson, & Holton, 2005).
Knowles reported that educators' understanding of the six hypotheses in andragogy will assist them in organizing and creating successful instruction for adult learners. Adults are likely to be self-directing and like all learners have individual learning style preferences that include auditory, visual and experiential. How farmers learn, but more importantly how they would prefer to learn is at the heart of this study. The literature demonstrates that many studies have postulated that adults learn differently than youth.
If we assume that adult farmers would have the same basic goals as other adults, this could have implications for Young Farmer Teachers and their approach to planning educational experiences. 3 Statement of the Problem Since in most states an agricultural educator’s education is primarily in teaching students in middle school and high school (Agriculture Teacher's Handbook - National FFA Organization, 2010), there is a need for these educators to be trained in andragogy so as to teach adults in the best possible manner. Typically, agriculture educators in secondary education are employed to teach teenagers. In Georgia, there is no required assessment of Georgia Young Farmers based on preferred learning.
However, State Department of Education policy is for Young Farmers to be surveyed to determine topics that will be of help or interest to them (Georgia Ag Ed, 2013). The required survey might give an indication of preferred learning by the topics chosen. Agriculture teachers, therefore, need help in decision making about how to present educational programs to adults. “It is commonly accepted that adult students require different educational techniques than for teaching youth.
If state supervisors and local administrators expect agricultural education programs to include an adult education component, pre-service teachers must be adequately prepared in the principles of andragogy” (Boone, Gartin, Wright, Lawrence, & Odell, 2002, p. Knowing and understanding learning styles can help an individual learn more efficiently (Silver, Strong & Perini, 1997). Stimulating learning in a setting preferred by adult farmers should be studied. 4 Purpose of the Study The purposes of this quantitative descriptive, assessment of group differences, and correlational study were to acquire information to describe the preferred learning styles of Georgia Young Farmer Educational Association participants and determine if statistically significant differences occur in preferred learning styles subgroups of visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
In addition, to determine if significant differences in learning preferences exist between gender, age ranges, and employment. Research Questions The study was an attempt to answer the following research questions: 1. Do Georgia Young Farmer adult participant’s preferred learning methods for visual, auditory and kinesthetic differ? 2. Do Georgia Young Farmer adult participant’s preferred learning methods for visual, auditory and kinesthetic differ by gender? 3.
Do Georgia Young Farmer adult participant’s preferred learning methods for visual, auditory and kinesthetic differ by age level? 4. Do Georgia Young Farmer adult participant’s preferred learning methods for visual, auditory and kinesthetic differ by occupation? 5 Assumptions The following assumptions relate to this study: 1. The survey questionnaire instrument was considered to yield valid scores for measuring Georgia Young Farmer learning preferences. Georgia Young Farmer agricultural education teachers accurately recorded and returned research data to the researcher.
Teachers did not discuss the survey while it was in progress. Each participant answered the questions to the best of their ability on each measure. Scores on the dependent variable, preferred learning styles, are normally distributed in the population for each subgroup. The population variances of the depression difference scores computed between any two levels is the same regardless of which two levels are chosen.
Subgroups are independent and represent a random sample. Delimitations of the Study The delimitations of the study included survey questionnaire scores from participants in 17 Georgia Young Farmer programs that returned data. Limitations of the Study The following were limitations of the study: 1. There may be significant variability between participants background.
Participants may not be willing to participate in a survey. The study is may not be representative of all farmers. There may be significant variability between participants background in agriculture. The study is limited to participants who attend an educational program.
Operational Definitions Agricultural Education – One of the Career and Technical Education programs available for public school students in 6th through 12th grades. The program contains three equal segments: classroom/laboratory instruction, FFA, and SAE.
