Eck, Christopher J.Sewell, Emily Anne2025-01-222025-01-222024-07https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14446/345829Professional development aims to offer strategic and continuous learning that advances individuals at various levels in their skills and competencies toward success and sustainability (Lin et al., 2011; Ragins et al., 2003). Dynamic and comprehensive professional development is needed to meet the current and future needs of teachers to build a strong teacher workforce (Moser & McKim, 2020; Myung et al., 2013). Effective teachers make critical impacts on their students across the educational spectrum (Eck et al., 2020; Gaskey, 2003; Stronge et al., 2011) This study’s purpose was to determine the impact of SBAE teacher professional development on programmatic and behavioral changes, human capital, and career tenure. The study was undergirded by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991), the teacher human capital framework (Myung et al., 2013), and a conceptual framework for teacher professional development (Sancar et al., 2021). Further the study was supported by the development of a conceptual framework for developing SBAE teachers’ intentions to teach. The explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design guided this study. The population of interest was all SBAE teachers nationwide (N = 14,756; Smith et al., 2024), a census approach was the target for data collection in Phase I. Responses were received from 973 individuals in 47 states, resulting in a 6.7% response rate. Phase II was guided by a qualitative interview protocol; 15 interviews were conducted. Findings revealed teachers’ participation, engagement, preferences, and intentions to continue teaching SBAE. Significant differences in engagement were found between the local and state level opportunities. Significant differences were also found in perceived preparedness between traditional and alternatively certified teachers. Regarding longevity in the profession, 61.20% of the respondents in this study indicated they plan to teach school-based agricultural education for the rest of their career. Four themes and 11 subthemes were developed through Phase II depicting the experiences of SBAE teachers and factors influencing their longevity. Eight conclusions were developed along with recommendations for research and practice based on the findings.application/pdfCopyright is held by the author who has granted the Oklahoma State University Library the non-exclusive right to share this material in its institutional repository. Contact Digital Library Services at lib-dls@okstate.edu or 405-744-9161 for the permission policy on the use, reproduction or distribution of this material.Dissertation