Examination of Career Development Events : Benefits Perceived by Agricultural Education Teachers in Oklahoma: a Delphi Study

Abstract

Agriculture is the nation's largest employer, with more than 24 million people working in some phase of the agricultural industry; however, the knowledge and skills needed in today's agricultural industry are lacking. Insuring that future generations are agriculturally literate and are taught about the significance of agriculture is crucial. Agricultural education classroom activities include math and science as well as hands-on work experience and the development of life skills helping students to discover their career path and realize success. Through CDEs, agricultural education programs have the potential to prepare students for more than 300 careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture. Career development events prepare students for theses future careers by instilling the primary skills that employers want. School-based agricultural education teachers and students, however, do not fully understand the technical and non-technical skills learned through CDEs. Therefore, a modified Delphi approach was utilized in this study to identify the benefits of career development events as perceived by school-based, agricultural education teachers in Oklahoma. Findings revealed that CDEs support the mission of career and technical education in that students attain valuable career and life skills that are beneficial for employment in the agricultural industry.