Perceived level of preparation, benefit of coursework, and teacher efficacy of program completers in a teacher certification program

Teacher shortage in agricultural education has been in issue for many years. The reasons why teachers are leaving the profession have been a major concern to the profession. Agricultural, food and natural resources teachers have a variety of subjects to teach and responsibilities to attend to. It’s been a concern that preservice agricultural teachers are not adequately prepared. In 2012, the Texas Tech University Agricultural Education department went through a reformation to better align the courses with the standards and teacher certification exam. \nThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of preparation of the Texas Tech University agricultural education teacher certification program graduates. A survey consisting of four sections that sought to determine the level of preparation of program graduates on educator standards, the perceived benefit of course work, levels of self-efficacy and the professional attributes of the program graduates. The results revealed findings to evaluate the levels of preparation of the program graduates.