| heal.abstract |
Recent interest in establishing a formal agricultural education system in Georgia has resulted in assistance from the United States. Several American universities have worked in cooperation with the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs and the United States Department of Agriculture toward achieving that goal. The multi-fold purpose of this study was to describe selected characteristics of selected educators in the country of Georgia, their perceptions concerning the ""importance of"" and their ""ability to"" perform instructional practices and activities, and to assess their views about trends and the future of education, agricultural education, and agriculture in Georgia. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data. The participants attended a four-day professional development seminar in October 2006. Participating educators perceived that the ""Rose Revolution "" had a positive impact on the quality of education, the quality of life for teachers, and the economic status of farmers in Georgia. Seminar topics that participants indicated held the greatest importance included ""brain-based learning,"" ""experiential learning, "" ""student evaluation,"" and ""effective teaching. "" Participants also believed they held the highest ability to implement principles related to ""effective teaching, "" ""instructional objectives, "" ""day-to-day [learning] strategies,"" and ""measuring student and program success."" Analysis of data revealed that the educators were eager about opportunities to further expand agricultural education course offerings and programs in their schools. |
en |