| The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to the SOE programs of high school students in Kentucky. The factors identified were the selected characteristics of the teacher, the methods used by the instructors in conducting SOE programs, the students' opportunity for an SOE program, the students' level of activity in the FFA, the selected characteristics of the vocational agriculture department, the selected characteristics of the students, and the teachers' perception on training received in conducting SOE programs.;Conclusions. A significant correlation was found to indicate that higher SOE scores of students were associated with (a) the closer a teacher lived to school, (b) more supervision at fairs and shows, (c) increased number of SOE visits, (d) more classroom instruction spent on SOE, (e) teachers requiring a proportion of the grade to be dependent upon SOE, (f) teachers with a higher percentage of the students with SOE, (g) the student living on a farm, (h) if the family income was dependent upon the farm for income, (i) if the parent encouraged the student's SOE, (j) higher membership status in the FFA, (k) member's perceived activity level in the FFA, (l) the percent of students in FFA at the school, (m) fewer students per teacher, (n) longer teaching contracts, (o) release time available to the teacher during school, (p) the less outside activities required of the teacher by the school other than FFA, (q) reimbursement for travel expenses, (r) the more years that a student has completed in vocational agriculture, (s) if the student's career plans were in agriculture, (t) higher grade point averages of students. No significant relationship existed between the SOE scores of students and the teacher's perception of training received in SOE.;The target population of this study was all of the vocational agricultural instructors and their senior students in regions 5 and 15 of Kentucky. |
