Agricultural extension educators' perceptions regarding the teaching and learning process related to water quality issues in the North Central Region of the United States

The North Central Region of the United States is the largest grain producer in the world. Therefore, the soil is intensively exploited which will eventually affect the water in this region. Most of the states in the NCR border the Mississippi River, thus contributing to the quality of water in the Gulf of Mexico. A review of related studies indicated a lack of suitable educational programs to assist farmers, communities, and extension agencies in understanding issues regarding water quality issues. However, these past studies did not focus on agricultural extension educators' perceptions regarding the teaching and learning process related to water quality issues.; The purpose of this research was to determine agricultural extension educators' perceptions regarding the teaching-learning process focused on water quality issues and related to agricultural practices, additionally the study sought to identify the relationship between agricultural extension educators' perceptions and their motivation for learning about water quality. The study targeted 300 agricultural extension educators randomly selected to take part in the study in the NCR of the United States. Findings were based on 213 completed questionnaires, and non-response error was controlled enabling findings to be generalized over the population.; Availability of time was the most limiting factor for agricultural extension educators to learn about water quality. Agricultural extension educators were more driven by intrinsic factors; they, themselves, were the driving force that motivated their extension work.; Results of this study indicated that the most established source of motivation was self-concept, which implies agricultural extension educators in the NCR are inner-directed and work according to their own beliefs regarding their best direction. Agricultural extension educators were highly motivated by their personal standards, enabling them to achieve higher levels of competence. This does not imply that they do not need reinforcement and recognition for good work; rather, self-concept implied a greater personal motivation.; This study did not place more emphasis on the training of agricultural extension educators in the North Central Region. Rather, it sought to provide a basic direction for future study in this region of interest.