| The discussion about the environmental challenges and socio-economic situation connected with conventional agricultural systems in the United States in the 1985s, and sustainable agriculture (SA), has mentioned the role of education in highlighting barriers. Advocates of sustainable agriculture declare that education about SA can present solutions to the current challenges in agriculture, provoke rural economic development, and enhance the scientific teaching of SA (Feldman, 1999). The goal of this study was to describe the perceptions of high school teachers about SA. A census of 17 teachers at the Global Impact STEM Academy (GISA) in Ohio (U.S.A.) was given questionnaires with five-point Likert-type scales and nine teachers responded. Teachers also self-selected into a focus group interview. In addition, a classroom observation was made in which qualitative data were collected.;This study replicated research at Iowa State (Muma, 2006). Based on previous research, Cronbach's coefficients for the reliability ranged from .74--.95. Quantitative findings indicated GISA teachers' most common beliefs about SA primarily were food safety, soil testing, water quality, crop rotation and use of animal manure. GISA teachers taught more topics about biological, social and ecological dimensions of SA compared to economic dimensions. The amount of these topics that teachers taught were the lowest compared to row banding of herbicides, narrow strip intercropping, and use of nitrification inhibitors. Also GISA teachers engaged in moderate instruction about sustainable agriculture in their classes. GISA teachers were in "agreement" about sustainable agriculture belief statements and sustainable agricultural practices. They used a variety of instructional methods for sustainable agriculture including top ranked methods of group discussion, hands-on-learning, project-based inquiry, and websites. The qualitative methods of this study included classroom observation and a focus group. Qualitative findings were generally consistent with the quantitative results for GISA teacher beliefs and educational practices about sustainable agriculture. |
