Integrating Socioscientific Issues in School-Based Agricultural Education: Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, Beliefs, & Barriers

The purpose of this quantitative survey research study was to describe the integration of socioscientific issue (SSI) integration within school-based agricultural education (SBAE). This research was guided by the SSI-based instruction framework and the three-component model of agricultural education. The population for this study was all SBAE teachers in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 school year. A total of 136 SBAE teachers participated in the study. SBAE teachers’ self-efficacy related to SSI, their perceived need to teach SSI, and barriers to teaching SSI were explored. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Respondents agreed that SSI are needed in agricultural education, but time to develop curriculum and integrate SSI is a barrier. Overall SBAE teachers felt supported by their administration and communities. Recommendations include integration of SSI and the SSI-based instruction framework in both pre-service agricultural teacher preparation programs and in-service teacher professional development. Aligning state and national agricultural education standards to include SSI is also recommended. Further research should be conducted to explore SBAE teachers’ knowledge of SSI, how they are integrating SSI in their classes and what resources and teaching strategies they are using.