ERIC Number: EJ1194919
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Oct
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1077-5315
EISSN: N/A
Impact of a Professional Development Experience Focused on Extension Educators as Change Agents
Scott, Meagan; Weeks, William G.; Weeks, Penny P.
Journal of Extension, v56 n6 Article 6RIB1 Oct 2018
Extension educators should think of themselves as change agents, yet many act as information dispensers. Accordingly, we sought to determine whether we could change perceptions of county Extension educators in Oklahoma regarding their function as change agents. Educators participated in a two-part (two-treatment) professional development experience involving a workshop and a computer simulation. The experience was grounded in Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory and addressed nine established Extension educator change-agent roles. Participants ranked the importance of the roles prior to the experience and again following each treatment. Their perceptions changed regarding only the "Alternative Delivery Systems" role. We explore the imperative to improve Extension agents' understanding of how to be change agents.
Descriptors: Extension Education, Extension Agents, Change Agents, Professional Development, Workshops, Computer Simulation, Program Effectiveness, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Role
Extension Journal, Inc. e-mail: joe-ed@joe.org; Web site: http://www.joe.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Oklahoma
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A