Thesis (M.S., Agricultural Education & 4H Youth Development)--University of Idaho, June 2014 | The students of the United States require 21st century skills to remain marketable, employable, and productive citizens. With changing educational policy and decreased funding, how will society continue to meet the needs of 21st century learners? Educational leaders and researchers suggest that partnering with community stakeholders could be a solution. The purpose of this research study was to describe the school-based agricultural education program supporters in the Northwest and agriculture teachers' views of supporter involvement. Survey research methods guided the data collection. The researcher identified groups of supporters and the roles that they had in an agriculture program. Further, it was found that teachers view supporters as beneficial partners. Time was identified as a major barrier to further collaboration. The researcher recommended that professional development be offered for practicing teachers and that future research expand the line of inquiry on community-school-based agricultural education partnerships.
