Thomas H. Paulsen, associate professor and chair of the applied agricultural and food studies program at Morningside College, recently co-authored an article that was published in the Journal of Agricultural Education.

Thomas H. Paulsen, associate professor and chair of the applied agricultural and food studies program at Morningside College, recently co-authored an article that was published in the Journal of Agricultural Education.

The article was “How the Quantity of Agricultural Mechanics Training at the Secondary Level Impacts Teacher Perceived Importance of Agricultural Mechanics Skills.”

It shared results from a study of high school agricultural education instructors in Iowa. It found that teachers who received training as high school students in agricultural mechanics skills – such as welding, plumbing or tractor maintenance – rated those skills as being of higher importance than teachers who did not.

Paulsen joined the faculty at Morningside College in 2016. Previously, he served for 21 years as a high school agricultural education instructor and FFA adviser and eight years as the coordinator of the agricultural teacher education program and professor-in-charge of the student-managed Ag 450 farm at Iowa State University in Ames. He has a doctorate in agricultural education from Iowa State University.