An exploration of agricultural education as an effective tool for developing students with special needs

Abstract There has been an increase in momentum of inclusive education in recent years (Giffing, Warnick, Tarpley, & Williams, 2010). In fact, several reports indicate that nearly one-fourth of secondary agriculture students have specific learning disabilities (Pense, Watson, & Wakefield, 2010). When one considers the ever-evolving rate that special education students are included in the secondary agriculture classroom, there is a continuing need to understand what these students are gaining from their experiences in the program including the learning environment and experiences offered to these students by secondary agriculture program as a whole. Research was conducted through interviews and observations among two rural schools in Illinois in order to explore the perceptions of agriculture instructors, special education aides and students with special needs as to how the agriculture program is serving students with special needs. Interviews with teachers and special education aides are successfully integrating students with learning disabilities into the learning activities of the agriculture program. Furthermore, observations supported these perceptions in that the classrooms are well-equipped to handle students with learning disabilities and provide a stimulating learning environment. The major conclusion was that comprehensive secondary agriculture programs that utilize the classroom, supervised agricultural experience, and the FFA model, provide a positive learning environment for students with special needs.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Agricultural Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Pirtle, Aspen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Anderson, James C., II

• inclusive
• secondary agriculture
• students with special needs

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2012 Aspen Pirtle

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/31115

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/31115