The Influence of Agriscience Research on High School Students’ Perceived Self-Efficacy of 21st Century Skills Attainment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if student participation in agriscience research Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) contributed to the development of selected 21st century skills. The target population was 10th-12th grade students enrolled in high schools purposely selected for their involvement in agriscience research SAEs. Total study participants included 328 (N) students from a purposive sample. Participants completed an instrument used to measure perceived self-efficacy of 21st century skill attainment. The results of the study indicate that students who were enrolled in agricultural education, were involved in SAEs, and participated in agriscience research reporter higher means of perceived self-efficacy of 21st century skill attainment than their peers who were not engaged in those activities. However, the results were not significant based on the results of the independent samples t-test.