Student Misbehavior in Agricultural Education: a Comparative Study

This study examined the seriousness with which agriculture teachers view the misbehavior of students enrolled in their agriculture programs today and sought to determine if the level of seriousness of student misbehavior in agricultural education has changed over time. The participants in the study were 165 agricultural education teachers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. These teachers rated 77 misbehaviors according to how serious a problem it created for them in their agriculture programs. No misbehaviors received a rating higher than 2.0 on a scale that had 4.0 as the critically disruptive behaviors, indicating that student misbehavior is not a serious problem in agricultural education. The most serious misbehavior manifested by students is a negative attitude toward school. However, there could be cause for concern when one realizes that the number one problem found in previous studies, “exhibiting an ambivalent attitude,” slid to a 20 place ranking. In this study, teachers perceive that students have finally made up their minds about school they don't like it. The "love-hate" relationship reported by Burnett and Moore (1988) has essentially developed into a "hate" relationship.