Theses and Dissertations Collection

Noncognitive skills including grit, locus of control, self-efficacy, and optimism are associated with increased individual success in education. The three-circle model of agricultural education allows students to develop and practice these noncognitive skills outside of normal class time. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study that allowed us to examine the noncognitive skills of Idaho FFA students who were competing in state level CDEs and LDEs across the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, grit, locus of control, general self-efficacy, situational self-efficacy, and optimism are described for the population and then these noncognitive skills are examined for differences based on the population’s demographics. Results indicate differences between grit and event type, locus of control and sex, locus of control and event type, general self-efficacy and sex, general self-efficacy and year in school, situational self-efficacy and year in school, situational self-efficacy and GPA, and situational self-efficacy and event type. The researchers make recommendations for future research as it relates to agricultural education.