Influence of FFA Activities on Critical Thinking Skills in Texas Three-star Chapters

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2013-12-04

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The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of FFA activities on critical thinking skills of Texas FFA members in three-star FFA chapters. This descriptive study was conducted in eight purposively selected three-star agricultural education programs throughout Texas. Seniors within each agricultural education program were selected to complete a demographic survey and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA). A response rate of 43% was achieved, with 65 students completing the demographics survey and the WGCTA.

The mean score for all FFA members who completed the survey was 39.85, which is considerably lower than the WGCTA norm group at 48.5 (Watson & Glaser, 1980). With a mean score of 39.85, the FFA members who completed the WGCTA scored in the 25th percentile of high school students in the 12th grade (Watson & Glaser, 1980). The FFA members performed best on the Evaluation of Arguments subtest with a mean on 9.02 and scored lowest on the Inference subtest with a mean of 5.35. The results show FFA members were most involved in receiving a FFA degree and were least involved in speaking events. The only FFA activity that is an indicator of FFA members? critical thinking ability is the State LDE contest. Gender is an indicator of FFA members? critical thinking ability. Additionally, the results show a moderate correlation between gender and scores on the WGCTA and a low correlation between FFA members? years of experience and scores on the WGCTA.

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