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The overarching goal of this project is to increase the food safety and security awareness and knowledge of Ohio secondary agriculture teachers, which in turn will increase their capacity to teach their secondary agricultural education students about important food safety concepts and skills by: (1)developing food safety and security curriculum materials for secondary agriculture teachers that are appropriate for use in grade levels 11-12, (2)assessing the quality and effectiveness of the food safety and security curriculum materials, and (3)conducting inservice education programs on food safety and security for Ohio secondary agriculture teachers.
Non-Technical Summary:<br/>
Food safety is the number one issue facing the U.S. food industry, particularly as our consumers depend upon more ready-to-eat and convenience foods, as well as foods prepared by others in food service establishments (restaurants, supermarkets, institutions, etc.) The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service is promoting food safety from farm to fork, involving livestock producers as well as meat processors in the process of protecting the food supply. A safe food supply supports rural development through trade, both domestically and internationally. The impetus for this project grew out of the mutual needs and interests in agricultural education and food safety among the project co-directors. The focus and scope of the project was influenced by recent changes in the state's educational requirements and recognition of the need to develop curriculum materials tailored to emerging needs in agricultural education. Due to an increased emphasis on the need to prepare students to better understand food safety concepts and skills, the need to enhance the capacity of secondary agriculture teachers became evident. Therefore, this project fulfills the need to provide support and assistance for secondary agricultural education students to learn about food safety.
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Approach:<br/>
Objective 1: Developing food safety and security curriculum materials for secondary agriculture teachers that are appropriate for use in grade levels 11-12. The curriculum materials will be based upon state (Ohio) and national subject matter content standards.
<br/>Objective 2: Assessing the quality and effectiveness of the food safety and security curriculum materials will include a pilot test to assess: (a) the quality of the food safety and security curriculum materials developed in the project based on feedback from field test teachers; (b) student achievement resulting from instruction suing the food safety and security curriculum materials, and (c) effectiveness of the inservice education program in stimulating interest and improving the capacity of secondary agriculture teachers to teach food safety and security.
<br/>Objective 3: Conducting inservice education programs on food safety and security for Ohio secondary agriculture teachers. Professional development workshops will be conducted in Ohio and nationally to promote use of the curriculum materials by secondary agricultural educators.