Agriscience Teachers’ Perceptions of Integrating Science Within School-Based Plant Science Curricula

By the end of the 12th grade, regardless of future career paths, students need enough science knowledge to be functional members of society as informed consumers and decision-makers. To convey scientific core ideas and technical concepts in unison, teachers must have adequate knowledge and experience in both areas. Teachers’ content knowledge and instructional practices have been shown to improve students’ science and STEM learning. The purpose of this study was to examine secondary agriscience teachers’ intentions to illuminate science within their plant science courses. An exploratory, multiple time-series research design was utilized. Overall, teachers displayed increased mean scores in all five factors across the testing periods. Significant differences were found for four of the five factors: attitudes and perceptions toward science integration; preparation to integrate science; support for integration; and perceived impact of integration on recruitment. Results indicated that content specific professional development can significantly impact teachers’ perceptions toward illuminating science in their secondary plant science courses. Only when teachers believe they can integrate science in their classes can students be exposed to the science of agriculture.