| The purpose of this study was to identify the professional horticulture competencies that a vocational horticulture teacher must perform successfully, and to distinguish between those competencies needed by an entry level teacher and those competencies needed by an experienced teacher. It also was designed to examine differences in the ratings of the competencies by the teacher sample with regard to selected educational and personal characteristics.;A survey instrument was developed, which included demographic questions and 256 professional horticulture competencies. The competencies were placed into five categories: general horticulture, floriculture/greenhouse management, landscape horticulture/nursery management/turf technology, horticulture mechanics, and fruits and vegetables.;Competencies rated 3.00 (on a Likert scale of 1.00 to 5.00) or higher by the total sample were considered necessary for successful performance by a teacher of vocational horticulture. One-hundred eighty competencies were considered necessary for an entry level vocational horticulture teacher. Two-hundred forty-four competencies were considered necessary for an experienced vocational horticulture teacher.;There were few significant differences in the ratings of the horticulture competencies when compared by teachers' sex, age, years of teaching experience, and years of horticulture related work experience.;The sample consisted of undergraduate students in agricultural education and horticulture at The Pennsylvania State University, beginning vocational horticulture teachers, experienced vocational horticulture teachers, and administrators and craft committee members from vocational agriculture departments in Pennsylvania.;Significant differences in the ratings of the horticulture competencies were observed based on teachers' level of education, undergraduate major in college, size of the vocational agriculture department, and horticulture subject area taught. |
