Attitudes of Outstanding Virginia Agricultural Education Teachers Toward Mathematics Integration

The purpose of this study was to analyze outstanding agricultural education teachers' attitudes toward mathematics integration. The researcher also determined the outstanding agricultural teachers' level of mathematics integration into each course currently taught. An investigation into the collaboration efforts being made between the agricultural education and mathematics department was also included. The researcher identified the outstanding teachers' perceived needs related to mathematics integration and provided baseline data as the agricultural education instructors in Virginia increase their integration of mathematics.

The researcher utilized an electronic questionnaire completed by 25 outstanding agricultural education teachers and follow-up interviews of the 5 teachers who reported integrating mathematics at the highest level. The agricultural teachers reported having favorable attitudes towards the integration of mathematics into the agricultural education curriculum. The results of the data analysis indicated that there was a negative relationship between age and percentage of mathematics integration. All of the agricultural education teachers thought that their efforts to integrate mathematics have helped their students increase their mathematics achievement levels, but they have no concrete evidence.

There were several recommendations for implementation, which included encouraging agricultural education teachers to continue to integrate mathematics and other academic areas. Textbook manufacturers, state agricultural leaders and state agricultural education curriculum specialists need to continue to develop curriculum and other education materials that emphasize academic integration.

Recommendations for research that emerged from the study included investigating the attitudes of agricultural teachers toward the integration of other academic areas and the mathematics teachers' attitudes toward mathematics integrated into the agricultural education curriculum. Another researcher could investigate the students' attitudes toward receiving academic credits for enrolling in agricultural education courses.

There were several implications that rose from this study. Future research could investigate whether the teachers would increase their rates of mathematic integration if ample materials that integrate mathematics are developed for their use. The research findings related to the percentage of mathematics integration in each course taught give curriculum specialists insight into the courses in which the agricultural education teachers are struggling to integrate mathematics. This researcher also identified that these adopters of mathematics integration into agricultural education fell within the implementation stage of the stages of adoption.