2019 FFA Advisor Needs Assessment Findings
A study conducted by the National FFA Organization in March through May of 2019 provided feedback from 708 agriculture teachers and FFA advisors from the eastern, southern, central and western FFA regions about their needs as agriculture educators, educational resources and experiences offered by FFA, their relationship with FFA and a variety of other topics. This document outlines some key findings from that study. Alternatively Certified Teachers Alternatively certified teachers are those who have been awarded a teaching license even though they have not completed a traditional teacher certification program. In all subject areas in every state in the U.S., individuals who choose to become a certified teacher through alternate means help to fill open positions that exist due to problems facing teaching nationwide, especially teacher recruitment and retention.1 Agricultural education, specifically, has historically faced challenges in teacher recruitment and retention.2 The Advisor Needs Assessment revealed that 18% of agriculture teachers surveyed are alternatively certified. Those who reported being alternatively certified stated that their biggest challenges include navigating FFA, developing classroom management, running and starting an [...]
