Service-learning outreach to attract high school students to degrees and careers in agricultural sciences

Abstract Given projected deficits and a lack of diversity, there is a critical need to recruit and develop the next generation of the agricultural workforce. The objectives of our study were to evaluate if AgCamp, a one day workshop focused on agriculture delivered through a college student-led serv...

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Published in:Translational animal science 2024, Vol.8, p.txae012-txae012
Main Authors: Blanton, Emily A, Anderson, Ryan G, Drewery, Merritt L
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Anderson, Ryan G
Drewery, Merritt L
description Abstract Given projected deficits and a lack of diversity, there is a critical need to recruit and develop the next generation of the agricultural workforce. The objectives of our study were to evaluate if AgCamp, a one day workshop focused on agriculture delivered through a college student-led service-learning platform: (1) increased high school students’ knowledge of agriculture, (2) changed their interests in pursuing degrees and careers in agriculture, and (3) increased their comfort and confidence in communicating with others in agriculture. We hosted high school students at AgCamp and provided them with instruction in animal science, horticulture, and agricultural mechanics. Pre- and post-test survey instruments were developed and distributed at the beginning and end of AgCamp. Data were analyzed with SPSS 26.0 using paired sample t-tests. As a result of attending this outreach initiative, high school students (n = 26) reported having more knowledge of horticulture (P 
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The objectives of our study were to evaluate if AgCamp, a one day workshop focused on agriculture delivered through a college student-led service-learning platform: (1) increased high school students’ knowledge of agriculture, (2) changed their interests in pursuing degrees and careers in agriculture, and (3) increased their comfort and confidence in communicating with others in agriculture. We hosted high school students at AgCamp and provided them with instruction in animal science, horticulture, and agricultural mechanics. Pre- and post-test survey instruments were developed and distributed at the beginning and end of AgCamp. Data were analyzed with SPSS 26.0 using paired sample t-tests. As a result of attending this outreach initiative, high school students (n = 26) reported having more knowledge of horticulture (P &lt; 0.01) and agricultural mechanics (P &lt; 0.01), but not animal science (P = 0.12), likely due to greater incoming knowledge of this sub-discipline, as reflected on the pre-test value. High school participants were also more interested in pursuing a college degree (P = 0.04) and career (P &lt; 0.01) in agriculture and became more confident approaching other high school students (P &lt; 0.01), college students (P &lt; 0.01), and college faculty (P = 0.01) involved in agriculture. Ultimately, participating in AgCamp stimulated high school students’ knowledge and interest in pursuing agricultural degrees and careers, indicating there is value in offering youth outreach as short-term programming to attract students to agriculture. This research explores the value of a service-learning workshop led by college undergraduates for increasing high school students’ knowledge and interest in pursuing degrees and careers in agricultural sciences. Lay Summary The agricultural workforce is challenged with a lack of ethnic diversity and projected deficits. These challenges are expected to intensify, as previous research indicates that today’s youth are not excited about opportunities in agriculture. Therefore, there is a need to expose youth to modern agricultural concepts and recruit them to related degree programs and careers. We evaluated the impact of AgCamp, a workshop focused on agriculture led by college undergraduates enrolled in a service-learning course, on high school student’s knowledge of agriculture concepts, interest in pursuing a college degree or career in agriculture, and confidence in talking with others in the agriculture community. We hosted ethnically diverse high school students on a university campus and surveyed them before and after the workshop. We found that high school students had increased knowledge about certain agricultural topics and were more interested in studying agriculture in college and joining the agricultural workforce as a result of attending AgCamp. AgCamp also increased high school students’ confidence in interacting with college students and others in agriculture. These findings are encouraging and support the idea of having college student-led service-learning workshops to attract high school students to degree programs or careers in agriculture.</description><identifier>EISSN: 2573-2102</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1093/tas/txae012</identifier><identifier>PMID: 38343393</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>US: Oxford University Press</publisher><ispartof>Translational animal science, 2024, Vol.8, p.txae012-txae012</ispartof><rights>The Author(s) 2024. 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The objectives of our study were to evaluate if AgCamp, a one day workshop focused on agriculture delivered through a college student-led service-learning platform: (1) increased high school students’ knowledge of agriculture, (2) changed their interests in pursuing degrees and careers in agriculture, and (3) increased their comfort and confidence in communicating with others in agriculture. We hosted high school students at AgCamp and provided them with instruction in animal science, horticulture, and agricultural mechanics. Pre- and post-test survey instruments were developed and distributed at the beginning and end of AgCamp. Data were analyzed with SPSS 26.0 using paired sample t-tests. As a result of attending this outreach initiative, high school students (n = 26) reported having more knowledge of horticulture (P &lt; 0.01) and agricultural mechanics (P &lt; 0.01), but not animal science (P = 0.12), likely due to greater incoming knowledge of this sub-discipline, as reflected on the pre-test value. High school participants were also more interested in pursuing a college degree (P = 0.04) and career (P &lt; 0.01) in agriculture and became more confident approaching other high school students (P &lt; 0.01), college students (P &lt; 0.01), and college faculty (P = 0.01) involved in agriculture. Ultimately, participating in AgCamp stimulated high school students’ knowledge and interest in pursuing agricultural degrees and careers, indicating there is value in offering youth outreach as short-term programming to attract students to agriculture. 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We hosted ethnically diverse high school students on a university campus and surveyed them before and after the workshop. We found that high school students had increased knowledge about certain agricultural topics and were more interested in studying agriculture in college and joining the agricultural workforce as a result of attending AgCamp. AgCamp also increased high school students’ confidence in interacting with college students and others in agriculture. 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The objectives of our study were to evaluate if AgCamp, a one day workshop focused on agriculture delivered through a college student-led service-learning platform: (1) increased high school students’ knowledge of agriculture, (2) changed their interests in pursuing degrees and careers in agriculture, and (3) increased their comfort and confidence in communicating with others in agriculture. We hosted high school students at AgCamp and provided them with instruction in animal science, horticulture, and agricultural mechanics. Pre- and post-test survey instruments were developed and distributed at the beginning and end of AgCamp. Data were analyzed with SPSS 26.0 using paired sample t-tests. As a result of attending this outreach initiative, high school students (n = 26) reported having more knowledge of horticulture (P &lt; 0.01) and agricultural mechanics (P &lt; 0.01), but not animal science (P = 0.12), likely due to greater incoming knowledge of this sub-discipline, as reflected on the pre-test value. High school participants were also more interested in pursuing a college degree (P = 0.04) and career (P &lt; 0.01) in agriculture and became more confident approaching other high school students (P &lt; 0.01), college students (P &lt; 0.01), and college faculty (P = 0.01) involved in agriculture. Ultimately, participating in AgCamp stimulated high school students’ knowledge and interest in pursuing agricultural degrees and careers, indicating there is value in offering youth outreach as short-term programming to attract students to agriculture. This research explores the value of a service-learning workshop led by college undergraduates for increasing high school students’ knowledge and interest in pursuing degrees and careers in agricultural sciences. Lay Summary The agricultural workforce is challenged with a lack of ethnic diversity and projected deficits. These challenges are expected to intensify, as previous research indicates that today’s youth are not excited about opportunities in agriculture. Therefore, there is a need to expose youth to modern agricultural concepts and recruit them to related degree programs and careers. We evaluated the impact of AgCamp, a workshop focused on agriculture led by college undergraduates enrolled in a service-learning course, on high school student’s knowledge of agriculture concepts, interest in pursuing a college degree or career in agriculture, and confidence in talking with others in the agriculture community. We hosted ethnically diverse high school students on a university campus and surveyed them before and after the workshop. We found that high school students had increased knowledge about certain agricultural topics and were more interested in studying agriculture in college and joining the agricultural workforce as a result of attending AgCamp. AgCamp also increased high school students’ confidence in interacting with college students and others in agriculture. These findings are encouraging and support the idea of having college student-led service-learning workshops to attract high school students to degree programs or careers in agriculture.</abstract><cop>US</cop><pub>Oxford University Press</pub><pmid>38343393</pmid><doi>10.1093/tas/txae012</doi><orcidid>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3558-9532</orcidid><oa>free_for_read</oa></addata></record>
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title Service-learning outreach to attract high school students to degrees and careers in agricultural sciences
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