Investigating the Sources and Influences Shaping Pedagogical Content Knowledge among Colorado Agricultural Educators

This phenomenological study examines the sources and influences shaping pedagogical and content knowledge among Colorado agricultural education teachers. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 17 teachers with a range of teaching experience and pathways to certification, this study deepens our understanding of how agricultural educators develop and operationalize pedagogical content knowledge decisions, as described through teachers’ lived experiences. Educators described a range of pre-and in-service experiences, as well as their relationships and engagement with the agricultural education and broader community, as significant sources of both content and pedagogical knowledge. The study also found that teaching experience, along with various internal and external contextual factors, influenced their decisions about what and how to teach. Together, these insights inform our understanding of the sources and influences on pedagogical and content knowledge, as well as their relationship to PCK development. Additionally, they contribute to the efforts of university teacher preparation programs and state and national support entities to tailor their teacher development practices to better meet the needs of current and future educators in a shifting educator landscape. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of supporting an increasingly diverse group of current and future teachers in the agricultural education profession.