Program Evaluation Competencies of Extension Professionals: Implications for Continuing Professional Development

McClure, Megan McGraw; Fuhrman, Nicholas E.; Morgan, A. Christian

doi:10.5032/jae.2012.04085

Cited by 26 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…State Cooperative Extension budgets are tight and Extension administrators are looking for ways to compensate for reductions in funding (McClure, Fuhrman, & Morgan, 2012); therefore, efficiently utilizing resources (specialists' and agents' time, travel expenses, training materials, etc.) for professional development activities is imperative.…”

Section: The Leadership Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leadership Competencies of Tennessee Extension Agents: Implications for Professional Development

Hall¹,

Broyles²

2016

Journal of Leadership Education

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The study's purpose was to determine Extension agents' (n= 111) perceived level of importance, knowledge, and training needs for leadership skills. Mean Weighted Discrepancy Scores were calculated to determine training needs. Participants' perceived responses were average to above average importance for all skills; however, the participants' perceived responses were varied concerning knowledge for most skills. The five highest rated training needs were resolve conflict, efficiently manage time, assess community needs, effectively lead a team, and prioritize tasks. The only common training need by Agriculture & Natural Resources (ANR), Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS), and 4-H agents was resolve conflict. Create vision was a training need only identified by FCS agents. The 4-H role needs were handle emotions and handle criticism. Introduction/Literature Review Cooperative Extension agents are the critical link between higher education institutions and stakeholders in the community. Extension agents spend their career sharing knowledge and experiences to build stronger communities. However, content cannot be the only focus, according to Anderson (2013), "leadership is the most important ingredient to building a strong community (para. 1). Extension agents must employ effective leadership skills and practices while delivering content knowledge and experience.

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Section: The Leadership Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the possibility of declining or stagnant budgets, Extension organizations are looking for ways to compensate monetary shortfalls (McClure, Fuhrman, & Morgan, 2012). Conducting professional development activities to increase efficiency or impart skills to be shared with stakeholders is crucial.…”

Section: Implications and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leadership Competencies of Tennessee Extension Agents: Implications for Professional Development

Hall¹,

Broyles²

2016

Journal of Leadership Education

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“…Participants were asked to rate their perceived ability in, and the perceived importance of each competency statement using the following response options: none, below average, average, above average, and essential (importance)/exceptional (ability). The Borich model was commonly used in the literature to assess agents' competencies and professional development needs (e.g., Culp & Kohlhagen, 2004;Hall & Broyles, 2016;McClure, Fuhrman, & Morgan, 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal Leadership Competencies of Extension Agents in Florida

Harder¹,

Narine²

2019

JAE

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Extension's ability to purposively develop the capacity of its agents to effectively work with and lead people is limited by a lack of data that identifies for which competencies agents need training. Interpersonal leadership competencies are widely recognized as important for Extension professionals and the literature indicates they are linked with job satisfaction, motivation, and performance. The Borich method was used to identify priority training needs for Extension agents in Florida within the interpersonal leadership domain. A Principal Component Analysis revealed the interpersonal leadership competencies could be operationalized into two latent constructs, conflict management and group leadership. Competencies for which training is most needed were mostly part of the conflict management construct. The results can be used to intentionally design professional development programs, improve the state's competency model, and inform future research related to conflict in Extension. Harder & Narine Interpersonal Leadership… Journal of Agricultural Education Volume 60, Issue 1, 2019 225 performance measures should be observable, (b) criteria should relate to life outcomes such as occupations and education, (c) competencies should be described and defined realistically, and (d) clearly articulated information on how to develop competencies should be made public" (Harder, Place, & Scheer, 2010, p. 45). Of interest for this research were interpersonal leadership competencies. Mumford, Campion, and Morgeson (2007) proposed four categories of leadership competencies needed by all employees: cognitive, interpersonal, business, and strategic skills. Mumford et al. (2007) found interpersonal skills and cognitive skills were most important at all organizational levels. From a synthesis of the literature, Mumford et al. (2007) noted interpersonal skills relate to interacting with others, and include factors such as social perceptiveness, coordination of actions, negotiation skills, and persuasion skills. Similarly, Riggio and Lee (2007) indicated people skills play an important role in leader effectiveness. Specific to Cooperative Extension, the 4-H Professional, Research, Knowledge and Competencies model (Byrne, 2017) integrates competencies associated with interpersonal leadership. Within the Access, Equity, and Opportunity domain reside competencies for interpersonal communication and demonstrating cultural awareness. Competencies in the Professionalism domain relate to demonstrating ethical behavior. Similarly, Moore and Rudd (2003) found a panel of administrative heads of agriculture agreed leadership skills such as building relationships and teams, teamwork, and cultural awareness and diversity were

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“…For objective 3, the perceived level of importance and self-rated level of competency for core competencies are the dependent variables. The existing literature (Brodeur, Higgins, Galindo-Gonzalez, Craig, & Haile, 2011;Eicher, 2006;Ghimire & Martin, 2011;Lahai, Goldey, & Jones, 1999;Lopokoiyit, Onyango, & Kibett, 2013;Okwoche et al, 2011;McClure, Fuhrman, & Morgan, 2012) was used as the basis for selecting the explanatory variables. Though the literature suggests that the core competencies of EPs differ by those demographic traits listed above, there is no agreement on how they differ.…”

Section: Explanation Of Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competency Assessment as a Way of Determining Training and Educational Needs of Extension Professionals in Nepal

Ghimire

Suvedi

Kaplowitz

et al. 2017

JIAEE

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This study examines the level of and gaps in core competencies among agricultural extension professionals in Nepal. The study population was composed of agricultural extension professionals in governmental extension offices and agriculture-based, non-governmental organizations. During August-September 2015, 349 extension professionals completed selfadministered surveys. The design for the data collection instrument was based on a literature review and on focus group recommendations. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that respondents perceived themselves to be moderately competent in extension core competencies --program planning, program implementation, communication skills, educational and informational technology, program evaluation, personal and professional development, diversity, and technical subject matter expertise. Respondents' perceived levels of competency differed by their current position, undergraduate college attended, and level of education, although not much by their age and experience in extension. Office chiefs and foreign-educated respondents perceived themselves as having higher levels of competency than their counterparts --subject matter specialists and technical officers, and in-country-educated professionals. The perceived levels of the importance of all core competencies were significantly higher than the professionals' perceived levels of their own competency, indicating gaps in extension core competencies among Nepalese extension professionals. The findings imply that that there is a need for in-service training of extension professionals in all core competency areas. Preservice extension education curricula need to be reviewed and updated, incorporating the core competencies highlighted in this study.

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Program Evaluation Competencies of Extension Professionals: Implications for Continuing Professional Development

Cited by 26 publications

References 15 publications

Leadership Competencies of Tennessee Extension Agents: Implications for Professional Development

Leadership Competencies of Tennessee Extension Agents: Implications for Professional Development

Interpersonal Leadership Competencies of Extension Agents in Florida

Competency Assessment as a Way of Determining Training and Educational Needs of Extension Professionals in Nepal

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