A case study approach to food and fiber systems literacy assessment

Scope and method of study. The purpose of this study was to assess food and fiber knowledge of selected students in kindergarten through eighth grade before and after receiving instruction based upon the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy Framework. Case studies were undertaken in test site schools located in Montana and Oklahoma. Pretests and posttests were administered to intact classrooms. ANOVA was used to determine pre- and posttest differences based upon grade level groupings and upon thematic units within the Framework. Pearson's Product Moment Correlation was used to determine the relationship between the Framework connections by teachers and the test score differences. The researcher developed a profile of each case study site through qualitative observations.Findings and conclusions. Students at both sites had some knowledge of food and fiber systems before the study. Pretest mean scores at the Montana site ranged from 64 to 76 percent across the grade groupings. Posttest mean scores at the site ranged from 62 to 89 percent. Only the Montana K-1 grade group score differences were statistically significant. The pretest mean scores at the Oklahoma site were between 58 and 79 percent. Posttest mean scores ranged from 55 to 88 percent, however, no Oklahoma grade grouping showed statistical significance. In both case studies, it was possible to increase student knowledge about agriculture by infusing instruction based upon the Food and Fiber Systems Literacy Framework. The greatest composite pre/posttest score differences occurred within the Framework themes for Science/Environment and History, Culture, Geography and both were statistically significant. However, no statistical significance was found at any grade group in either site for the Understanding Agriculture theme. There was a statistically significant correlation between test score differences and the number of teacher reported instructional connections to the Framework for both the Oklahoma site and for the pooled data.