Designing, implementing, and evaluating a teacher training program for agricultural education in high schools

Thesis Abstract

The decline in quality and consistency of agricultural education in high schools, coupled with rapid changes in agricultural technologies and sustainability demands, underscores the need for a rigorous, scalable teacher training program that enhances instructional content, pedagogical skills, and field-based assessment practices. This study aims to design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive teacher training program for agricultural education in high schools, with specific objectives to (1) identify teacher competencies and instructional gaps through a mixed-methods needs assessment, (2) develop a contextually relevant training curriculum aligned with both national agricultural education standards and modern agricultural industry needs, (3) implement a blended professional development model incorporating workshop-based, mentored, and micro-credential components, and (4) evaluate the program’s impact on teacher practice, student engagement, and learning outcomes. Guided by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and the Kolb experiential learning theory, the study advances understanding of how integrated content, pedagogy, and technology influence high-school agricultural instruction. A mixed-methods research design is employed. The population comprises 240 high school agricultural educators across four districts, with a purposive sample of 120 teachers for the needs assessment and 60 teachers for the intervention, selected to capture diverse school contexts (rural, peri-urban, and urban). Data collection instruments include a validated Teacher Competency Inventory, a Structured Observation Protocol, and surveys measuring student motivation, engagement, and achievement in agricultural topics, complemented by semi-structured interviews with 24 teachers and 12 school administrators. Training program implementation spans eight weeks, delivered through a blended model asynchronous online modules (n = 6), weekly synchronous micro-workshops (90 minutes each), a six-month mentored classroom coaching cycle, and a capstone field-based project. Validity and reliability are ensured via expert panel reviews, pilot testing (n=20), and inter-rater reliability checks for classroom observations (Cohen’s kappa ? 0.80). Data analysis employs descriptive statistics and multilevel modeling to evaluate changes in teacher practice and student outcomes, repeated-measures ANOVA to assess pre-post shifts in attitudes and engagement, and thematic analysis of interview transcripts to elucidate contextual factors and implementation fidelity. A structural equation model will test the mediating role of teacher practices on student achievement, incorporating latent variables for pedagogical content knowledge, technological integration, and experiential learning. The study also includes a process evaluation using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to identify facilitators and barriers to replication. The expected findings indicate that the designed training program significantly improves teachers’ TPACK scores, increases the frequency and quality of field-based demonstrations, and enhances student engagement and achievement in agricultural science units, with effect sizes in the moderate to large range (Cohen’s d = 0.50–0.85) for key outcomes.Variation across school contexts is anticipated, with rural schools benefiting more from hands-on field experiences, while urban schools gain from enhanced integration of technology-enabled simulations. The mediation analysis is expected to show that improvements in instructional practices partly explain gains in student achievement, moderated by teacher self-efficacy and access to industry partnerships. The study contributes to knowledge by operationalizing a scalable, evidence-based teacher development model for agricultural education, integrating TPACK with experiential learning and industry-aligned competencies, and providing a robust framework for ongoing program refinement and policy adoption. The theoretical contribution includes an empirical validation of the TPACK framework’s applicability to high-school agricultural education within a blended professional development context and an extension of Kolb’s experiential learning theory into structured teacher coaching and field-based practice. Practically, the research yields a replicable design for district-level implementation, including a detailed curriculum blueprint, a train-the-trainer package, and a robust assessment toolkit for ongoing monitoring. Recommendations emphasize sustained investment in teacher professional development, stronger alignment with agricultural industry partnerships, and scalable digital resources that support continuous improvement in teaching and learning outcomes in agricultural education.