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AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE TEACHERS' BARRIERS, ROLES, AND INFORMATION SOURCE PREFERENCES FOR TEACHING BIOTECHNOLOGY TOPICS

The purpose of this study was to determine barriers, roles, and information source preferences for teaching agricultural biotechnology topics. Agricultural science teachers were described primarily as 37 year-old males who had taught for 12 years, had bachelor’s degrees, and had lived or worked on a farm or ranch. Equipment was perceived as the only major barrier to teaching biotechnology. Administration acceptance and community support were considered minor barriers. Teachers acknowledged responsibilities for educating consumers, farmers, and students about biotechnology and involving students in biotechnology-related SAE projects. Teachers disagreed that it was their role to develop instructional materials and lesson plans on biotechnology. Workshops, video tapes, and the Internet constituted teachers’ preferred biotechnology information sources. No significant relationships were found between years of teaching experience (teachers with 15 or more years and teachers with less than 15 years of teaching experience) and perceived barriers, beliefs, or information sources. Similarities between teachers allows for new strategies to be shared among all teachers, without a need for tailoring materials to specific teacher age groups.