Murray State Theses and Dissertations
Abstract
National trends have highlighted the need for a knowledgeable, skilled workforce in advanced agricultural systems. University-level Agricultural Systems Technology (AST) undergraduate degree programs and closely-related degree programs are vital to equipping the agricultural workforce with the knowledge and skills needed to support the industry. Ensuring that AST curricula are relevant and appropriate is vital to equipping undergraduate students in such programs with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the modern agricultural workforce. This study sought to identify the essential knowledge and skills needed by undergraduate AST degree program students from the perspectives of university-level faculty across the United States. Using an adapted model of the human capital theory as its theoretical framework, this study focused on the notion that investments in education and training directly relate to increased workplace performance. This study, modeled after similar research by Wells et al. (2021), employed a three-round Delphi technique to establish a consensus among a panel of experts. Using publicly-available information databases, the researcher selected 85 faculty members to participate in this study. Twenty-six panel members participated in the first round, eighteen participated in the second round, and eleven participated in the third round. In total, 208 knowledge and skill items reached consensus. One-hundred and thirty-two of these items fell within the technical knowledge and skills category while and 76 items fell within the employability skills category. The researcher will use findings of this study to inform the relevant stakeholders about the essential knowledge and skills that should be ascertained by students throughout undergraduate-level AST programs to strengthen AST curricula nationally.
Keywords: Agricultural Systems Technology, Knowledge, Skills
Year manuscript completed
2026
Year degree awarded
2026
Author's Keywords
Agricultural Systems Technology, Knowledge, Skills
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Education
Department
Education
College/School
College of Education & Human Services
Dissertation Committee Chair
Trent Wells
Committee Chair
Trent Wells
Committee Member
Brian Hoover
Committee Member
Alyx Shultz
Committee Member
Thomas Poole
Committee Member
Mark Hainline
Document Type
Dissertation
Recommended Citation
Kennedy, Jerry Blake, "Identifying the Knowledge and Skills that Students Enrolled in Agricultural Systems Technology Degree Programs Need: Perspectives from University Faculty" (2026). Murray State Theses and Dissertations. 434.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/etd/434
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