PAST FOUNDATION, 1003 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio 43212

 IRB NO: 2017.11.0016ETH: The Amplification and Acceleration of Design Thinking on the STEM Landscape IRB APPROVAL DATE: 11.2.17

Study Title: Exploration of STEM Agricultural Careers through Student Programming

Researchers: Lane Fargher Navarro, Ph.D.

Research Organization: PAST Foundation, Columbus, Ohio

Sponsor: Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation

This is a parental permission form for research participation.  It contains important information about this study and what to expect if you permit your minor to participate.

Your minor’s participation is voluntary.

Please consider the information carefully. Feel free to discuss the study with your friends and family and to ask questions before making your decision whether or not to permit your minor to participate.  If you permit your minor to participate, you will be asked to sign this form and will receive a copy of the form.

Purpose: 

This project is intended to provide an understanding of the impact of STEM agricultural education on student learning. The study will explore the experience of those engaged in STEM agricultural education, in terms in terms of programmatic challenges, achievements, perceived barriers and unperceived barriers. This project will combine the expertise of a team of anthropological ethnographers and educators to ensure that variable components of the study are included.  The information generated by this study will inform future STEM education studies and will help identify key factors associated with academic excellence, as well as critical information for policy makers and educators engaged in creating new STEM based educational opportunities.  

Procedures/Tasks:

The study will involve several methods to gain information about your child’s experience as a student enrolled in a STEM agricultural education program.  The research may include group discussions, questionnaires, surveys, and observations of school activities.  Ethnographic Research Team members conducting group discussions or observations will record these activities by audio recording and/or hand-written or word-processed notes.  Your minor may be asked to complete a written questionnaire or survey as part of the study.  Access to study documents will be limited to the Ethnographic Research Team. The information gathered for this study will not be utilized for any purpose other than to contribute to the completion of this research project.

Duration:

The study will be conducted from May 2023 through December 2028. Your minor may elect to leave the study at any time.  If you or your minor decides to stop participation in the study, there will be no penalty, and neither you nor your minor will lose any benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.  Your decision will not affect your future relationship with the school district.

Risks and Benefits:

There are no risks to participation for any individual minor.  The benefit may derive from increased understanding of student experiences of STEM education programs from the perspective of the student.

Confidentiality:

Your minor’s study-related information will remain confidential.  However, there may be circumstances where this information must be released.  For example, personal information regarding your minor’s participation in this study may be disclosed if required by state law.  Also, your minor’s records may be reviewed by the following groups (as applicable to the research):

• Office for Human Research Protections or other federal, state, or international regulatory agencies;

• The PAST Foundation Institutional Review Board;

• The sponsor, if any, or agency (including the State Department of Education or federal agency such as the Department of Education or the National Science Foundation) that may be supporting the study.

All study records will be maintained by the PAST Foundation Ethnographic Research Team in a secure location, and access to research files will be strictly limited to the Ethnographic Research Team.  All data provided to the Project will be coded utilizing a system that will assure anonymity of minor participants and will not carry identifying information including the names of individual minors participating in the study.  While the results of the research may be presented at conferences and/or in published papers, all individual responses will remain confidential. Following completion of the study, all original hard copies of study records will be destroyed.  A single copy of all study materials will be maintained in electronic format by the PAST Foundation.  If at any time there is a request to utilize this data as part of a following study, or as part of a larger research project to compare STEM education implementation activities with other projects, you will be contacted and asked to give specific permission for use associated with the data request at that time.

Incentives:

No payment is offered for participation in the study.  Participation is strictly on a voluntary basis.

Participant Rights:

You or your minor may refuse to participate in this study without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. If you or your minor is a student or employee at Ohio Farm Bureau, your decision will not affect their participation or employment status.

If you and your minor choose to participate in the study, you may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits.  By signing this form, you do not give up any personal legal rights your minor may have as a participant in this study.

An Institutional Review Board responsible for human subject research at the PAST Foundation reviewed this research project and found it to be acceptable, according to applicable state and federal regulations and policies designed to protect the rights and welfare of participants in research.

Contacts and Questions:

For questions about your minor’s rights as a participant in this study or to discuss other study-related concerns or complaints with someone who is not part of the research team, you may contact the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board at the PAST Foundation at 614-340-1208 and the appropriate person will respond to your questions and/or concerns.

If your minor is injured as a result of participating in this study or for questions about a study-related injury, you may contact the Director of Research at PAST Foundation or the Ohio Farm Bureau.