Experiences of Recently Graduated Women School Based Agricultural Education Students in Arizona: A Critical Feminist Approach

Abstract

School based agricultural education (SBAE) works to grow high school students’ leadership abilities and likelihood for success in agriculture careers. Past research found inequalities between the experiences of women and men students in SBAE and currently there is a paucity of research investigating the experiences of women students in Arizona SBAE programs. The central research question that guided this study was: What are the experiences of recent women graduates of SBAE programs in Arizona? This research was conducted utilizing critical feminist theory and used Acker’s theory of gendered organizations as its theoretical framework. Data was collected through interviews with fifteen recent women graduates from Arizona SBAE programs. Five themes emerged from the data: 1) Advisors perpetuate the Culture of SBAE in Their Programs, 2) Differing Expectations Exist Between Women and Men Students in SBAE, 3) Enforcement of FFA Official Dress Disproportionately Affects Women Students, 4) Gendered Interactions with Advisors, Peers, and the Community, and 5) Women Not Seen in the Same Spaces as Men Within the Agriculture Industry. It is recommended that further research explore the experiences of other women students in SBAE, women students who left SBAE early, SBAE students that do not identify as cis gendered, and how the expectations placed upon women and men students affect their experiences in SBAE. Recommendations for practice include encouraging the updated FFA official dress rules allowing any student to wear slacks or a skirt, refraining from setting expectations based on gender, and increase representation of women throughout the agriculture industry.