Perceived program directions in agricultural education

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze information from the perceptions of agriculture instructors, state leaders of agricultural education, area vocational/technical school (AVTS) directors, and local agriculture program advisory committee members regarding program directions in agricultural education.;Procedure. The population included agriculture instructors, advisory committee members, and building administrators in all schools offering an agriculture program and the state leaders of agricultural education in Missouri. Thirty-six (36) AVTS agriculture programs, a proportional random sample of 130 high school agriculture programs, and 15 state leaders were a part of the study. A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) statistical procedure was used to analyze data based upon five factors identified by factor analysis.;Findings. Means and standard deviations were calculated for the 61 questionnaire items. The first null hypothesis was rejected at the.05 alpha level. The MANOVA procedure revealed significant differences among the groups on elements of a secondary program, the interface of state and local policy, and the FFA. No differences among groups were found regarding agriculture program guidelines and agricultural literacy.;The second null hypothesis was rejected at the.05 alpha level. The MANOVA procedure indicated that AVTS and high school groups differed significantly on three factors.;Conclusions. The following conclusions were formulated as a result of this study: (a) high school and AVTS agriculture instructors and advisory committee members agree on the future directions for agriculture programs; (b) AVTS directors agree with all agriculture instructors on the future directions for agriculture programs; (c) state leaders of agricultural education and local administrators place greater emphasis on state and local policy interface than do the agriculture instructors; (d) high school principals differ with AVTS directors on the future directions for agriculture programs; and (e) all groups believe that leadership and personal development should continue to be an integral component of the agricultural education program.