Oklahoma School Superintendents Perceptions Toward School-Based Agricultural Education.

Superintendents play a key role related to influence and decision making at the school building level. This study aimed to determine the perceptions of superintendents across Oklahoma related to school-based agricultural education (SBAE). The Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior undergirded this study. This non-experimental descriptive research study aimed to reach school superintendents across Oklahoma who had one or more SBAE teachers in their district (N = 367). The 35-item instrument spanned three constructs including, SBAE program perceptions, SBAE course perceptions, and SBAE teacher perceptions, along with personal and professional characteristic questions. Nine items represented the construct of SBAE program perceptions, which resulted in a grand mean of 3.36. The second research objective measured superintendents' perceptions of SBAE courses, resulting in a grand mean of 3.29, with mean scores ranging from a low of 1.42 to a high of 3.65 on a five-point scale. The final construct aimed to establish superintendents' perceptions of SBAE teachers across Oklahoma, of which participants held a positive perception overall (grand mean = 3.26). Although this study has been replicated in three states with similar outcomes, additional research is necessary to determine administrator perceptions in states with perhaps less agricultural support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]