Readiness of Prospective Home Science Teachers for Teaching Alternative Agriculture Topics in Design and Technology Subjects

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the level of readiness of future home science teachers in teaching alternative agricultural topics in design and technology subjects. Aspects of readiness were examined to identify the level of knowledge, skill, attitude, and exposure of home science teachers to teaching alternative agricultural topics in design and technology subjects. Data collection was conducted using questionnaires and respondents for this study involved 77 Home Science Education students consisting of 36 students in Year 3 and 41 students in Year 4 who sit for the Agriculture and Human and Practical Teaching of Agricultural Science courses. The questionnaire consisted of 5 sections comprising respondents' background, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and exposure to the topic. The reliability coefficient of this study was α =0.81. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 to obtain the frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation values. The findings showed that Bachelor of Home Science Education students had a moderate level of readiness (mean = 2.71) towards teaching alternative agricultural topics in design and technology subjects in terms of knowledge level (mean = 1.86), skill level (mean = 3.34), attitude (mean = 3.78) and level of exposure (mean = 4.72). Some suggestions have been made to increase the readiness of home science teachers for teaching alternative agricultural topics, so that all future teachers are prepared to master the subjects that will be taught, especially in the areas of knowledge so that they will not miss out and be able to implement teaching and learning more effectively.