Cultivating Adaptive Stewards: A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Pedagogical Pathways to Competency Development in Forestry Higher Education for the 21st Century

Abstract

Forestry is currently being conducted in a period of greater-than-ever-before social-environmental complexity; therefore, it has never been more important to evolve forestry professional education into one that is transformative. The present study utilized a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to develop and test a full model that illustrates the pedagogical pathways to integrated professional competency. A first qualitative phase, including in-depth interviews with forestry educators (n = 9) and experienced practitioners (n = 9), provided the foundation for developing a robust theoretical model of the educational processes involved in producing competent forestry professionals. In the second phase of this study, a survey-based model was developed and tested to examine how Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) and educators’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) function as pedagogical drivers to influence Student Professional Competency (SPC). IBL and TPKK were predicted to positively influence SPC by sequentially influencing Critical Thinking Disposition (CTD) and then Professional Place Identity (PPI). Additionally, Field Immersion (FI) was identified as a potential boundary condition that could moderate the relationship between IBL/TKPK and CTD. Data collected from 398 undergraduate forestry students at five different universities were used to analyze the relationships among IBL, TKPK, FI, CTD, PPI, and SPC using hierarchical regression and moderated serial mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. The results showed that a fully mediated model of the relationships between the pedagogical drivers and SPC existed. Specifically, both pedagogical drivers were shown to have positive relationships with CTD and PPI, and both CTD and PPI had positive relationships with SPC. FI was also found to be a significant moderating variable that enhanced the positive relationship between IBL and CTD. Overall, this research provides a valid, process-oriented model of how education develops the cognitively and affectively grounded adaptive and ethical competences necessary for future generations of forestry professionals. Practically speaking, this research provides recommendations regarding curriculum design that include the synergistic integration of pedagogy, cognitive habits, and professional identity development in a context rich in opportunities for immersive field experiences.