Journal of Agricultural Education - Vol. 38

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of Iowa agricultural education teachers and students about sustainable agriculture. The teacher population for the study included all secondary school agricultural education teachers in Iowa (N=248). A stratified random sample of 60 teachers (schools) was selected, I O from each of the six FFA districts. Teachers in the sample were asked to administer instruments to all eleventh and twelfth grade students in their agricultural education classes, yielding 464 student participants, Likert-type scales were used to measure perceptions related to knowledge and impact of sustainable agriculture. Teachers perceived themselves as having additional things to learn about sustainable agriculture practices and students measured themselves as only “knowing a little” about them. Teachers and students alike perceived sustainable agriculture impacting agriculture and the environment in several ways. Relatively high perceptions of sustainable agriculture were observedfor both groups. The findings of this study support the need to integrate sustainable agriculture into the secondary school agricultural education curriculum. Food and fiber production systems that emphasized high yields have been remarkably effective in making United States agriculture one of the most productive systems in the world. This impressive productivity may be offset, however, by dependence on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, soil erosion, surface and groundwater contamination, and food safety. The public has reacted strongly to reports of water and food contaminated by agricultural practices, concerns for the health of people who live and work around pesticides, and reports of depletion of our natural resources, including soil, water, forests, wetlands, and native prairies. Since the 198Os, attention has been given to developing agricultural systems so that inputs and returns are optimized, yet protective of our environment (Joint Committee on Sustainable Agriculture, 1991). Today, agricultural sustainability has become a significant issue in the United States and internationally. Agricultural systems of the past that focused only on economical goals are now tempered by human needs and environmental issues. Brady (1990) stated that: “There is a growing awareness that agricultural systems must provide not only what humanity needs today but what the human family will require a decade or even a century from now. Sustainable agriculture is a topic whose time has come (p. 104).” After studying the writings of others, Firebaugh (1990) proposed that the goals of sustainable agriculture are to: (1) maintain or improve the natural resources base, (2) protect the environment, (3) ensure profitability, (4) conserve energy, (5) increase productivity, (6) improve food quality and safety, and (7) create more viable socioeconomic infrastructure for farms and rural communities (p.674). Journal of Agricultural Education 15 Vol. 38, No. 2, 1997 In a 1990 Iowa study, a majority of farmers re-emphasized that sciences related to natural perceived sustainable agriculture as resulting in resources should be incorporated into new improved family health, healthier livestock, lower components of agricultural education in secondary production costs, improved soil conditions, and schools and that the curriculum should be expanded improved environmental conditions (Lasley and to include environmental and resource Kettner, 1990). management. Scientific, technological, economic, social, and environmental trends have caused some farmers to turn to farming practices that reduce purchased off-farm input cost and the potential for environmental damage through more intensive management and efficient use of natural and biological resources (Board of Agriculture National Research Council [BANRC], 1989). BANRC studied farms across the United States that were using a combination of conventional and sustainable practices. Marshall and Herring (199 1) advocated that: The inclusion of sustainable agriculture in the curriculum is essential. This will probably not occur, at least at the secondary level, as separate courses. Rather as units in agriculture are taught, discussion of these issues will be integrated. This will result in a generation of graduates knowledgeable of the critical issues facing agriculture in the 2 1 st century (p. 12). Enterprises featuring sustainable practices ranged from the production of crops and livestock in Ohio, to tree fruits and vegetables in Florida, to rice production in California. Beus and Dunlap in (1990) advanced that a change from the present paradigm of conventional to sustainable agriculture would require that greater value be given to “humanity,” “community,” and "nature." A 1995 study of the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices among Iowa farmers found that a majority of the respondents had either adopted or were in the process of adopting the following practices: soil nitrogen testing, spring/summer nitrogen fertilizer application, use of green manure, mechanical weeding, reduced rates of herbicide, banded herbicide, crop rotation, and reduced nitrogen fertilizer rates. Compatibility of the sustainable practices with existing farming systems was a major factor in the level of adoption by farmers. (Alonge and Martin, 1995). Recognizing that additional knowledge and skills will be needed by farmers to adopt new practices, federal, state, and local educational agencies have developed programs ranging from awareness of sustainable agriculture concepts, to on-farm research, to demonstration of specific practices. The Cooperative Extension Service, farmer organizations, schools, colleges, national and state centers focusing on sustainable agriculture, and others have added elements of sustainable agriculture education in their programs. Firebaugh (1990) advanced that “Education--primary, secondary, and higher education, as well as informal education--should take an open view of sustainable agriculture” (p. 676). Management of natural resources has been a part of the agricultural education curriculum in secondary schools since federally supported vocational agriculture education was created in 1917. A National Academy Press (1989) report To join in the movement to provide sustainable agriculture education, agricultural education at the national, state, and local levels has developed educational materials on sustainable agriculture. Teacher inservice programs have been conducted to disseminate curriculum materials and instructional aids and to strengthen teacher understanding of sustainable agriculture. Now that several years have passed since the initial introduction of sustainable agriculture into the secondary school agricultural education curriculum, Journal of Agricultural Education 16 Vol. 38, No. 2,199 7 an assessment of student and teacher perceptions is needed to guide further development of educational initiatives in this area. Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the perceptions of Iowa secondary school agricultural education teachers and students about sustainable agriculture. The specific objectives of the study were to: (1) determine teacher and student self-perceived knowledge of selected sustainable agriculture practices, and (2) determine the impact of sustainable agriculture as perceived by teachers and students. Methods and Procedures Population and Sample The teacher population of the study included all the secondary school agricultural education teachers in Iowa (N=248). Stratified random sampling was used to ensure proportional representation from each of the state’s geographical regions. Ten teachers (schools) were randomly selected from each of the six FFA districts in Iowa. Thus, the sample included the 60 agricultural education teachers in these schools and selected students enrolled in agricultural education classes. The study targeted eleventh and twelfth grade students, however, some teachers administered the instruments to all their agricultural education students. Forty-one of the teachers responded (68% return rate) by completing a teacher instrument and involved 464 of their students in completing instruments.