Voices from the Field: Agriculture Educators' Insights on Equity in Agricultural Education

We examined how an agricultural literacy professional development enhanced equity in seven secondary agriculture classrooms in a southeastern state. Utilizing the Equity Framework in Career and Technical Education and exploratory case study methodology, we examined the equitable barriers that seven secondary agriculture education teachers faced in their school sites and how targeted professional development may have alleviated some of those challenges. Our findings revealed that all seven teachers faced barriers in their schools from all three areas identified in the theoretical framework: educational adequacy, equal treatment, and equal educational opportunity however, the professional development helped alleviate the educational adequacy barrier. More research is needed to elicit the role of professional development programs in counteracting equity barriers.