Research in Agricultural Education
by Dr. Kristin Kovar
Research is important in Agricultural Education. Students early in their college careers in Ag Ed are often asked to research topics related to their Education Philosophy and their Leadership Philosophy. At SMSU, a research guide has been set up on the library webpage. The main database for Ag Ed is Education Research Complete. Other databases are listed for Agriculture-specific content such as the Agricultural Science Collection.
Determining source credibility
Credible sources are current and come from peer reviewed journal articles. The students learn the CRAAP test method to determine if a source is credible and I find this valuable.
Scholarly sources
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.
Trade sources
The Ag Ed Magazine is the most common trade publication for Ag Ed. An additional resource that is useful is the Techniques magazine. It is published by the Association for Career and Technical Education. I have these in print in my office for students to use.
Open Internet resources
Blogs and websites play an important role in Education in general, as teachers value helping each other and using each other as resources. There are so many excellent ideas out there that teachers share in blogs or websites. Blogs and websites can provide ideas that are valuable to a future teacher including, but not limited to teaching strategies, methodologies, assessments, activities, projects, classroom management, etc.
Agricultural Education: Disciplinary Perspective
Writing in Agricultural Education
Reading in Agricultural Education
Documentation in Agricultural Education