Beliefs and intentions of counselors, parents, and students regarding agriculture as a career choice

The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs held about agriculture by high school guidance counselors, juniors, and their parents, and the relationship between these beliefs and the intentions of these groups to select or not to select agriculture as a career choice.;The sample in this study consisted of high school juniors (n = 1041), their parents (n = 712) and guidance counselors (n = 82) associated with the Illinois public high school system during the 1987-88 school year. Stratified random sampling techniques were used to select the schools. The research methodology was that of a descriptive survey. The survey instrument consisted of 18 statements describing beliefs about agriculture, 4 statements to measure intentions to select agriculture as a career choice, and some demographic items. Three subscales were identified from a factor analysis of the beliefs scale; mainly Agriculture As a Career, Academic Preparation, and Agriculture in Illinois.;Statistical techniques utilized in analyzing the data were means, standard deviations, frequencies, analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), t-tests, and correlation coefficients. The 0.05 alpha level was set for all analyses.;Some of the major findings and conclusions were: (1) Younger-aged parents were more positive in their beliefs and intentions regarding agriculture as a career choice for their children than were older-aged parents. (2) Ethnicity was determined not to be a significant factor in their beliefs or intentions about agriculture as a career choice. (3) Parents holding masters degrees had significantly more positive beliefs and intentions about agriculture than parents with less than a college education. (4) Respondents from large urban communities had more favorable beliefs about agriculture but had less intentions than respondents from rural communities to select it as a career choice. (5) Exposure to coursework in agriculture appeared to have a positive impact on students' beliefs about agriculture and a negative impact on counselors' beliefs. (6) The reporting of agricultural news by broadcast media, especially television news, appeared to be associated with the least favorable beliefs and intentions indicated by the three groups. (7) The findings of this study point to signs for positive enrollment trends in agricultural programs in Illinois. These include more positive beliefs and intentions among younger parents, persons with formal education beyond high school, and residents of large urban communities.