ERIC Number: EJ1261558
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1389-224X
EISSN: N/A
Fostering Effective Use of ICT in Agricultural Extension: Participant Responses to an Inaugural Technology Stewardship Training Program in Trinidad
Gow, Gordon; Chowdhury, Ataharul; Ramjattan, Jeet; Ganpat, Wayne
Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, v26 n4 p335-350 2020
Purpose: This study sought to investigate agricultural extension practitioners' response to an in-service training program offered by the University of the West Indies intended to foster effective use of ICTs (information and communication technologies) through a technology stewardship approach. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study reports on participants' responses to an in-service training course on technology stewardship. Data were collected using a pre-course survey, formal course evaluation, classroom observation, and semi-structured interviews with participants. Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation model was used to structure analysis of the results. Findings: Findings from this study show high levels of receptivity to the technology stewardship training course, that learning objectives of the course are achievable when offered as an in-service training program, and that most participants indicated an intent to apply their learning in a post-course activity. Results from the study raise a number of considerations for future course design and institutional policy in order to better support technology stewardship in practice. Practical implications: Technology stewardship training shows promise as a leadership-oriented approach for expanding the effective use of ICTs among communities of practice for agricultural extension in the Caribbean and elsewhere. Theoretical implications: This study applies key principles of social learning theory from a communities of practice approach with theoretical implications for the design of in-service training related to ICT adoption and use for agricultural extension education and policy. Originality/value: This study reports on the first known application of the technology stewardship model from the communities of practice literature to agricultural extension in the Caribbean.
Descriptors: Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Agricultural Education, Extension Education, Technology Integration, Extension Agents, Program Effectiveness, Inservice Teacher Education, Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Trinidad and Tobago
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A