Characteristics of the turfgrass industry in 2020: A Delphi study with implications for agricultural education programs

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of the turfgrass industry in the year 2020 in order to recommend curriculum content for agricultural education programs of the future. Specific objectives were to determine: the general characteristics of the turfgrass industry in the year 2020, a demographic profile of opinion leaders in the turfgrass industry, whether the Delphi technique could be used to achieve consensus among turfgrass experts, the workforce requirements of the turfgrass industry, and the educational requirements of those employed in the turfgrass industry in the year 2020.;This was a national study using a three-round Delphi technique. The panel of experts was nominated by turfgrass professionals (teaching, research and extension) at all the land-grant institutions, the four-year and two-year colleges offering turfgrass, and the executive boards of related turfgrass associations. The 38 most frequently nominated experts were invited to participate in the study. A structured Delphi instrument consisting of nine categories was developed from the literature. This instrument was circulated to the panel of experts for comments on each category. Their responses were used in the development of a structured Delphi instrument consisting of 147 items on a Likert-type scale. The instrument was reviewed for content and face validity by an 19-member panel.;Consensus was achieved on an item if at least 60% of the respondents were in agreement and the composite score fell in the "agree" or "disagree" range. The mean and standard deviations indicated that the central tendency was a movement toward consensus. The responses were found to be very stable from round 2 to round 3, as indicated by the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient procedure and the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test.;It was concluded that: (1) The turfgrass industry will grow and change rapidly into the year 2020, with increasing emphasis on protecting the environment through best management practices. (2) Opinion leaders in the turfgrass industry can best determine curriculum content for turfgrass programs of the future. (3) The Delphi technique was effective in determining consensus among turfgrass experts regarding future characteristics of the industry. (4) There will be increased employment opportunities and a corresponding need for training programs in turfgrass. (5) There is a need to continually update the turfgrass curriculum in agricultural education programs. Thirty-two content items were identified as essential inclusion in agricultural education curriculum.