Selected Variables Related to Expected Longevity in Teaching of Entry-Phase Agriculture Teachers

An ongoing shortage of secondary-level teachers is a problem, including career and technical educators who teach agriculture. The purposes of this study were to determine selected characteristics of entry-phase agriculture teachers, examine those characteristics for relationships, and determine which characteristics explain teachers' expectations of teaching longevity. Teachers responded to eight items describing personal, professional, and situational characteristics and to 51 items assessing their perceived competence. Significant relationships were found between the variable "additional years expect to teach" and the variables gender, agricultural work experience, and departmental size. Regression analysis identified gender and agricultural work experience as valuable predictors of additional years a teacher expected to teach. These variables explained 17% of the variation; work experience was the more substantial predictor.