Exploring the Use of Competition in School-Based Agricultural Education Classrooms: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study

School-based agricultural education (SBAE) has been home to countless competitive events for nearly 100 years. Oftentimes, when teachers and stakeholders think about competitions, they think about competitions in FFA and SAE, rather than a classroom environment. However, competition is a teaching tool which offers connection and encouragement for students to engage in FFA and SAE competitions outside of the classroom. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore factors which influence SBAE teachers’ ability to utilize competition within their classrooms through the lens of the pedagogical design capacity framework. To fulfill this purpose, 191 SABE teachers completed a questionnaire; data analysis occurred using descriptive and inferential statistics. After quantitative analysis, an interview guide was developed; 16 questionnaire respondents were invited to engage in a follow-up interview and submit artifacts including competition-based activities and lesson plans, providing evidence of competition within their classroom. Quantitative findings suggested teachers enjoy facilitating competition, though they may lack the training, background, or curricular and physical resources to do so effectively. While interview participants tended to consider themselves as competitive, and facilitate classroom competition at least on a monthly basis, their rationale and approaches for implementing competition varied; including preparing students for FFA events or life after high school, a desire to engage students in exciting ways, and a desire to improve their teaching practice. Based on these findings, we recommend the development of additional training and ready-to-use.