The latest trend: aligning with standards

摘要

What trends are shaping curriculum? The impetus for realigning teacher preparation programs in agricultural education emanates from six major issues and events: - Agricultural educators need to develop a common philosophical and theoretical foundation for preparing teachers of agriculture. - The National Research Council (NRC, 1988) recommended changes in preparing teachers of agriculture based on innovative programmatic leadership at the state and national levels. - The Strategic Plan for Agricultural Education (1989) called for collective, systematic, and effective efforts to elevate and extend the standards of excellence in agricultural education, to serve all people equally without discrimination, and to provide leadership and cultivate strongpartnerships in education leading to the contribution of a process and plan that would generate reform. - The National Strategic Plan and Action Agenda for Agricultural Education (2001), reiterated the call for action of the 1989 plan calling for: (a) highly motivated, well-educated teachers to teach in and about agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources in grades pre-K through 12; and, (b) partnerships and strategic alliances that ensure agricultural education's continuing presence in K through 12 education. - The American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) adopted a set of national standards for improving agricultural teacher education programs in December 2001. The AAAE standards bridge the calls for action outlined by the 1989 and2001 strategic plans with the need for teacher education reform. - Teacher education programs are accountable to national and state standards to improve the quality of teacher preparation. Therefore, preservice agriculture teacher education graduates must pass standards-based exams for certification and licensure (Latham, Gitomer, & Ziomek, 1999).