Kansas agricultural educators' perceived importance and competence integrating special education accommodations

Abstract

School-based agricultural education (SBAE) has served students with special educational needs for decades. Opportunities for students with special needs to explore careers, increase employment rates, and improve learning potential can be provided through their participation in SBAE. This study examined Kansas agricultural educators’ professional development needs related to special education importance and implementation abilities (i.e. competence). It also aimed to assess statistical differences of both the perceived importance and self-reported competence of a variety of demographic differences (i.e. gender, race, highest degree earned). The instrument, based on an instrument developed by Norris et al. (2025), utilized fourteen special education competencies needed for educators to effectively teach students with special needs. A census of agricultural educators Kansas (N = 306) was conducted with a response rate of 17% (n = 53). Results from this study indicated that although agricultural educators in Kansas recognize the importance of special education, they may feel unprepared to implement areas of special education effectively. There were no significant differences between the various demographic groups, which speaks to the need for training overall, not towards specific groups. Recommendations from these findings include more professional development for SBAE teachers to best accommodate special needs students and more preservice coursework to improve knowledge and competence to implement special education practices in their future classrooms.