Examination of Pre-Service and In-Service School-Based Agricultural Educators International Professional Development Experience in Malaysia

Abstract

Globally competent educators and learners are needed to develop a globally competent workforce and society. To address this need, pre-service and in-service school-based agricultural education teachers from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin embarked on a four-week international professional development experience in Malaysia (i.e. #AgEd2Malaysia) learning and interacting with Malaysian life skills pre-service educators. Three institutions: Pennsylvania State University, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and Hawkeye Community College engaged six pre-service and six in-service school-based agricultural education teachers from the United States with their counterparts in Malaysia. #AgEd2Malaysia participants were exposed to agricultural education, production agriculture, policy, religion, and culture in Malaysia. While experiences are important, reflection on those experiences is when true growth occurs. United States pre-service and in-service school-based agricultural education teachers utilized the TIPS (Thing, Idea, People, and Self) reflective journaling method to gain insight into the theme of each day. Journal entries were coded and themes were analyzed. The primary purpose of this study was to describe daily experiences of pre-service and in-service SBAE teachers from the United States participating in a four-week professional development experience in Malaysia. United States pre-service and in-service school-based agricultural education teachers identified growth in pedagogy, curriculum content, cultural awareness, self-awareness, and more as a result of the international professional development experience.