Abstract
We investigated the development of agriculture students’ professional skills through a community engagement project in which students taught seven weeks of sustainable soil management lessons to diverse populations in under-served communities. Our objectives were to (1) determine the skill sets desired by employers for community-based agricultural and food system work (2) evaluate the effectiveness of course activities to develop and improve these skill sets and prepare students for employment post-graduation and (3) compare results of an online survey evaluation of student skill development to narrative data provided by the student interviews and field observations of students teaching in the community. An analysis of student survey and interview data shows that when compared to a non-service-learning control group, service-learning students rate themselves as significantly more confident in career-relevant skills following the seven week community engagement project. Field observation and student interview data indicated that by serving as community educators, students developed knowledge of agriculture, comfort working with diversity, leadership skills, and increased ability to teach agriculture-related content to the public. Preliminary findings suggest that service-learning projects incorporated into agriculture curricula provide students with experience that better prepares students for the competitive job market.
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