Competition as an Instructional Approach in School-Based, Agricultural Education (SBAE): A Historical Review

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Competition as an Instructional Approach in School-Based, Agricultural Education (SBAE): A Historical Review
Language: English
Authors: Jones, Mason C., Edwards, M. Craig
Source: Journal of Agricultural Education. 2019 60(1):109-128.
Availability: American Association for Agricultural Education. P.O. Box 7607, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, Raleigh, NC 27695. Web site: http://www.aaaeonline.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 20
Publication Date: 2019
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Agricultural Education, Competition, Teaching Methods, Educational History, Vocational Education, Educational Legislation, Federal Legislation, Educational Change, Educational Philosophy
Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: Smith Hughes Act, Vocational Education Act 1963, Carl D Perkins Vocational Education Act 1984
ISSN: 1042-0541
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the historical role of competition as an instructional approach in School-Based, Agricultural Education (SBAE). Pragmatism was found to be the philosophical underpinning of competition in SBAE, and the influences of William James and John Dewey were described. The growth of new National FFA contests was presaged by seminal legislative acts such as the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, the Vocational Education Act of 1963, and by educational reforms in the 1980s. We also identified and discussed the challenges associated with using competition as an instructional approach. Based on the profession's longstanding concerns about competition at the expense of instruction, i.e., prizing winning over learning, it was recommended that SBAE's stakeholders continue to examine the educational merits of its competitive activities to revise, alleviate, or add such as may be needed.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2019
Accession Number: EJ1215514
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the historical role of competition as an instructional approach in School-Based, Agricultural Education (SBAE). Pragmatism was found to be the philosophical underpinning of competition in SBAE, and the influences of William James and John Dewey were described. The growth of new National FFA contests was presaged by seminal legislative acts such as the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, the Vocational Education Act of 1963, and by educational reforms in the 1980s. We also identified and discussed the challenges associated with using competition as an instructional approach. Based on the profession's longstanding concerns about competition at the expense of instruction, i.e., prizing winning over learning, it was recommended that SBAE's stakeholders continue to examine the educational merits of its competitive activities to revise, alleviate, or add such as may be needed.
ISSN:1042-0541