Factors Affecting the Failure of Agricultural Vocational Schools in Khuzestan Province: Application of Grounded Theory

The main purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting on the failure of agricultural vocational schools in Khuzestan province. In present study, with a qualitative approach, the Grounded Theory has been employed as the research method. In order to collect information, semi-structured interviews were used. According to its subject area, the scope of this research included managers and teachers of agricultural vocational schools in Khuzestan province. The study started with a purposeful sample and continued with theoretical sampling approach. Data analysis was done with MAXQDA software. The participants of this research included five manages and 25 teachers who worked in five agricultural vocational schools in Khuzestan Province. Three steps of open, axial, and selective coding were performed on the data. The results showed that the most important problems of agricultural vocational schools in Khuzestan province included Family obstacles (3 sub-categories), Research (1 sub-category), Educational (5 sub-categories), Motivational (3 sub-categories), institutional (13 sub-categories), Awareness and Attitude (3 sub-categories), Management (5 sub-categories) and Financial (3 sub-categories), overall (totally, 36 sub-categories). Therefore, through problems identification, we can help improve the quality of agricultural education and the interest of stakeholders in acquiring agricultural knowledge.