Murray State Theses and Dissertations
Abstract
The word “farmer” somehow still evokes that stereotypical image of an old man in overalls wearing a straw hat and holding a pitchfork. Agriculture is our nation’s largest employer, but agriculture careers still have that stigma of being backbreaking manual labor that yields a low income and is reserved for those less educated or uneducated. At the secondary education level, this type of skewed perception by school counselors can have an impact on their abilities to counsel students who are seeking college or career advice. To meet the demands of our growing population, agricultural careers have evolved to become highly scientific, and many require advanced degrees to obtain employment. Agriculture has a constant need for employees in the food, fiber and forestry industries. Given the important role of guidance counselors to influence the choices related to postsecondary options for students, a questionnaire was developed to determine the perceptions of agricultural careers is an accurate depiction of the opportunities available in the agricultural industry where we are now in the twenty-first century.
Based on the analysis of the data, null hypothesis one was rejected, indicating that there is a significant predictive relationship between the counselors' likelihood of recommending students to choose postsecondary studies in an agriculturally related field and counselor perceptions of agricultural careers. Based on the analysis of the data, null hypothesis two was rejected, indicating that there is a statistically significant relationship between counselor perceptions of agriculture careers and their physical location, rural versus metropolitan areas of Georgia.
Year manuscript completed
2022
Year degree awarded
2022
Author's Keywords
Agricultural Careers, Agricultural Education, Perceptions, High School Counselor
Dissertation Committee Chair
Brian Bourke
Committee Member
Kristie Guffey
Committee Member
Donald Gilman
Document Type
Dissertation
Recommended Citation
Arrington, Meredith, "GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR PERCEPTIONS OF CAREERS IN THE AGRICULTURAL FIELD" (2022). Murray State Theses and Dissertations. 249.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/etd/249