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A Program Evaluation of an Agricultural Literacy Innovation Erica Brown Edwards Gardner-Webb University

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A Program Evaluation of an Agricultural Literacy Innovation Erica Brown Edwards Gardner-Webb University Gardner-Webb University Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University Education Dissertations and Projects School of Education 5-2016 Dig into Learning: A Program Evaluation of an Agricultural Literacy Innovation Erica Brown Edwards Gardner-Webb University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/education_etd Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Methods Commons, and the Elementary Education Commons Recommended Citation Edwards, Erica Brown, "Dig into Learning: A Program Evaluation of an Agricultural Literacy Innovation" (2016). Education Dissertations and Projects. 187. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/education_etd/187 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Education Dissertations and Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University. For more information, please see Copyright and Publishing Info. Dig into Learning: A Program Evaluation of an Agricultural Literacy Innovation By Erica Brown Edwards A Dissertation Submitted to the Gardner-Webb University School of Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Gardner-Webb University 2016 Approval Page This dissertation was submitted by Erica Brown Edwards under the direction of the persons listed below. It was submitted to the Gardner-Webb University School of Education and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Gardner-Webb University. ____________________________________________ ________________________ Jennifer Putnam, Ed.D. Date Committee Chair ____________________________________________ ________________________ Sydney Brown, Ph.D. Date Committee Member ____________________________________________ ________________________ Debra Spielmaker, Ph.D. Date Committee Member ____________________________________________ ________________________ Jeffrey Rogers, Ph.D. Date Dean of the Gayle Bolt Price School of Graduate Studies ii Acknowledgements “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11. Thank you Lord for your countless blessings, for giving me the support of a family who has guided me through even the hardest of days, and most of all for allowing me to follow my dreams. Without my faith in you, I would have never made it this far. Thank you to my family; my mother and father who instilled in me faith, love, and the meaning of hard work. Daddy, the sacrifices you have made for your family shows your abounding love for us, and I thank God every day for blessing me with you as my father. You are my hero! Mama, you were there from day one, cheering me on, traveling to endless lengths to support me and to get me through. I thank God for blessing me with a mother so selfless and loving. I am so blessed to have you as my mother. You are my heart! To my sister–my cheerleader and life coach, when I least expect it, you teach me how to make sense of the nonsense. Thank you for being my best friend. To my husband, my rock; supporter; and number one fan. Without you and your love, I would not be where I am today. You had confidence in me that I never thought I could have. You will never truly know how much your love and support means to me. Because of you and your hard work I was able to fulfill a dream that I never thought could happen. You are the love of my life! To our baby girl, Sadie, you will never know how much Mommy and Daddy love you and have prayed for you. This dissertation was written for you, in hopes that one day you will know that you can do anything you put your mind to. To my mother-in-law and father-in-law, thank you for all of your support and for iii raising the wonderful man I call my husband. You both mean so much to me. Thank you to my dissertation committee. Each of you has truly impacted my life in ways you will never know. I am eternally grateful for the sacrifices you all have made and the time you spent to guide me through this process. Dr. Putnam, you believed in me even when I thought I had reached my limit. I admire your willingness to help others reach their personal goals and for always pushing me forward. Dr. Brown, I sincerely appreciate your guidance and your willingness to make things happen. You are truly an inspiration. Dr. Spielmaker, thank you for your guidance and your support throughout this process. It is amazing how doors are opened to people when you least expect it; because of you I had the ability to follow my dream. You are all special blessings to me and hold a special place in my heart. To North Carolina Farm Bureau, Ag in the Classroom Curriculum Specialists, especially Director Michele Reedy. Thank you for your unending support and belief that I was capable of making a difference. It is because of your support and willingness to help that this dissertation was even possible. Thank you for all of the time you spent and efforts you made to help make this possible. I will be forever grateful for all that you have done. To all my cohort friends—Kari, Christy, Cari, Michelle, Julia, Lisa, Jamie, Chad, Kristen, Terree, Brittany, Matt, and Ali—you are all shinning stars; even the darkest night could not hide your greatness. Each of you has encouraged me and helped me through. Thank you for your guidance and your support. I wish you all the best of luck and many blessings with what your futures hold. To my district superintendent, school board, workshop participants, and others iv who had input in this process, thank you for being a part of this innovation. I appreciate the time you spent allowing me to implement a program focused on agriculture and your consideration throughout the entire process. I am so thankful for teachers like you who are willing to go the extra mile to help others. v Abstract Dig into Learning: A Program Evaluation of an Agricultural Literacy Innovation. Edwards, Erica Brown, 2016: Dissertation, Gardner-Webb University, Program Evaluation/Stages of Concern/Levels of Use/Theory of Reasoned Action/Constructivist Theory/Concerns Based Adoption Model/CIPP Model This study is a mixed-methods program evaluation of an agricultural literacy innovation in a local school district in rural eastern North Carolina. This evaluation describes the use of a theory-based framework, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), in accordance with Stufflebeam’s Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) model by evaluating the implementation and use of Dig into learning: An agricultural Literacy Innovation. This study evaluated teacher perceptions and use of agriculture as a context for teaching and learning in Grades K-5 by utilizing Stages of Concern (SoC) and Levels of Use (LoU) components of CBAM in relation to the CIPP model for program evaluations. The following research questions were the basis for this study: (1) What needs for professional learning are expressed by elementary teachers with regard to agricultural literacy curriculum integration; (2) How is professional learning developed and implemented based on elementary teachers’ expressed needs with regard to agricultural literacy curriculum integration; (3) What are elementary teacher perceptions of the impact of professional learning of agricultural literacy curriculum integration; and (4) What are elementary teacher perceptions of the impact of initial implementation of agricultural literacy curriculum integration? The findings of this study are significant because they align with previous research on agricultural literacy and evaluation methods of both CBAM and the CIPP model. This study provided the framework in which change facilitators can support teacher participants and encourage them to utilize agriculture as a context for teaching and learning to contextualize STEM education. vi Table of Contents Page Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................1 Background of Problem .......................................................................................................1 Statement of Problem ...........................................................................................................2 Related Literature .................................................................................................................3 Setting ..................................................................................................................................9 Purpose Statement ..............................................................................................................10 Research Questions ............................................................................................................11 Research Questions according to CIPP and CBAM ..........................................................11 Rationale for Proposing a Program Evaluation .................................................................13 Overview of Study Design .................................................................................................14 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................15 Summary ............................................................................................................................19 Chapter 2:
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