| Scope of study. The purpose of this study was to assess the in-service training needs of Extension professionals as perceived by Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service (OCES) field staff. Specific objectives set forth to accomplish the purpose of the study were to: (1) identify selected demographic characteristics of OCES field staff; (2) determine in-service education needs; (3) identify in-service education priorities regarding courses/topics; (4) identify preferred delivery methods for in-service education; and (5) identify the time-frame preferred for delivery of in-service education. The scope of this study included the OCES field staff conducting extension programming at the district, area, and county levels during the 1996-97 academic year. A three-round delphi approach was used to ascertain field staff responses. The instrument used in the initial round consisted of a blank survey mailed to all OCES field staff identified through the Extension Personnel Directory at Oklahoma State University. Field staff were asked to list in-service education needs, preferences regarding method of delivery, most convenient time-frame for conducting in-service, and their area of program responsibility. The second-round instrument was a refined list of responses from the field staff asking them to rank their needs concerning topics, preferred delivery methods, and convenient time-frame. However, the final round involved a refining process that specified major topic areas, and field staff were asked to rank their priorities for each sub area listed under its respective major topic. In addition, the respondents were also asked to indicate the appropriate delivery methods and time-frame(s) for each individual subarea and respond to 11 items designed to determine selected demographic information. Collection of the data involved questionnaires mailed directly to district staff end area specialists, while county staff received surveys mailed to County Extension Directors in 63 county offices and Unit Extension Directors in seven unit offices representing 14 counties. One hundred fifty four (75.49%) OCES field staff returned usable survey instruments for data analysis. Descriptive statistics which included frequency distributions, percentages, weighted means, ranges, and standard deviations were used to describe the data.;Findings and conclusions. Selected demographics revealed almost 63 percent of the OCES field staff were male, more than 87 percent were Caucasian, and over 62 percent held a masters degree. The typical field staff respondent had slightly over 33 hours of graduate credit and an average of 11.94 years of Extension experience. The major issues perceived by the field staff as priority areas for in-service education were: computers, horticulture, human environmental science, production agriculture, program administration, program development, rural development, and youth development. Extension educators apparently view in-service education as an opportunity to pursue an advanced degree, while strongly indicating their preference concerning methods of delivery for in-service education as a 'hands-on' learning style. The field staff were also rather adamant that in-service and staff development training activities be conducted during the 'day time during the work week'. Since 'hands-on' learning was the delivery method of preference among OCES field staff, it was recommended that OSU faculty and state specialists make every effort to design educational programs and activities which utilize the advantages of experiential learning. |
