Agricultural Education: Disciplinary Perspective
By Dr. Kristin Kovar
Agricultural Education stems from both Agriculture and Education foundations. The Agriculture discipline tends to be more of a hard science, while the Education discipline is a social science. This creates a dynamic of interaction within the discipline that is Agricultural Education.
All assignments that are constructed in the Ag Ed program have the foundational approach of being practical to students. These are things that students will need to replicate or use as a resource in their future position. Often times, students are asked to connect content from class into a different setting such as leadership concepts as seen in a popular film, etc. Examples of SLOs (Student Learning Outcomes) include:
- Students will be able to find, use, and evaluate primary academic writing associated with the agricultural education discipline.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
- Students will be able to effectively deliver oral presentations for various audiences and contexts.
Professional organizations
Within Agricultural Education, professional organizations include the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), as well as state organizations such as Minnesota Association for Agricultural Education (MAAE). In addition, there is the National Association for Agricultural Educators (NAAE), the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) and Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). Finally, there is the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA).
For scholarly work, within Ag Ed, there are journals within the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE), called the Journal of Agricultural Education (JAE), the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) has the NACTA Journal, and the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) which has the Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education (JIAEE). Any Extension research is also viable research for Agriculture or Agricultural Education.
Writing in Agricultural Education
Reading in Agricultural Education