Billy R. McKim

A Multidimensional Needs Assessment of Social Emotional Learning Skill Areas.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has often been an umbrella term for a wide range of competencies, including emotional processes, social and interpersonal skills, and cognitive regulation (Jones, Bouffard, & Weissbourd, 2013). We used the Borich (1980) needs assessment model to assess the professional development needs of Texas agricultural education teachers in core SEL skill areas. Data were collected with three forms of a paper questionnaire to determine teachers’ self-perceived levels of competence in core SEL skill areas. Twenty SEL indicators were assessed in four ways (Importance, Ability to Perform, Knowledge, and Ability to Teach), and then used to create three latent variables (Performance Competence, Knowledge Competence, and Consequence Competence), which served as dimensions of professional development needs. Agriculture teachers perceived the importance of all core SEL skill areas as having average or greater importance, their ability to model core SEL skill areas as average or greater, their knowledge of core SEL areas as average or greater, and possessing average or greater ability to teach core SEL skill areas. The findings of this study support the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL, 2003) report and emphasize the importance of SEL in agricultural education.

Reaching Millennials: Implications for Advertisers of Competitive Sporting Events that Use Animals

The purpose of this mixed method, multi-modal case study was to identify the most acceptable video images of animals to use when advertising competitive sporting events. Data were collected from college students at Arizona State University, California State University-Fresno, Texas A&M University, University of CaliforniaBerkeley, University of California-San Diego, and University of Texas. We investigated which sporting events are most acceptable among members of the Millennial generation, if there were differences in responses based on Millennials’ gender, and if perceptions differed among rodeo and non-rodeo events. Based on our results, gender did not influence Millennials’ perceptions of the use and treatment of animals in the 16 competitive sporting events presented in this study. However, non-rodeo events were perceived more positively than rodeo events. Of the eight rodeo events, respondents perceived barrel racing as most acceptable and the event in which the animal was treated most kindly. Respondents perceived team roping as least acceptable and the event in which the animals were treated least kindly. The results of this study include strategies that may improve advertising rodeo and non-rodeo events to Millennials by selecting images that are most acceptable to Millennials and considerations for reaching target audiences.

A Little Learning in Dangerous: The Influence of Agricultural Literacy and Experience on Young People's Perceptions of Agricultural Imagery

Agricultural knowledge gaps are forming between American agricultural producers and the consumers they feed and clothe. These divides in agricultural literacy and firsthand experience in the food and fiber industry may affect how consumers perceive images of modern production practices presented in the news media and, subsequently, the industry itself. In a quantitative study, researchers surveyed students at a large public university about their agricultural literacy — knowledge and awareness of and familiarity with agriculturerelated issues — and agricultural experience, their firsthand interactions with agricultural production. The students also responded to images taken from a television news broadcast about antibiotic use in livestock production. Using these three variables, an analysis of variance was conducted that revealed significant differences between students experienced in agricultural production and those somewhat inexperienced, indicating that those with minimal exposure to agriculture may have done so in a context related to traditional, rather than modern, production. A regression analysis also revealed agricultural literacy was a significant predictor of reaction score. The researchers suggest, given the ability of agricultural literacy to influence perceptions, agricultural literacy initiatives should be promoted, while experiences with agriculture may be enhanced by hands-on learning at agritourism sites and agricultural fairs and expositions.