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.
In colleges of agriculture leadership education is one area of study where enrollment and demand are outstripping the capacity of institutions to deliver the coursework. However, few faculty members are prepared to teach leadership contextually based in agriculture. Responding to this challenge, the Leadership Education Institute (LEI) for faculty in colleges of agriculture was created. The primary goal of the project was to prepare agricultural faculty to teach leadership as a secondary discipline. This multi-year project, funded by a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant, was a collaboration of faculty from Oklahoma State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Georgia. The project resulted in directly impacting food and agricultural sciences education at 10 institutions across the nation by improving teaching competency of leadership education faculty in colleges of agriculture.
The agricultural leadership discipline is rooted in public speaking and parliamentary procedure instruction for the youth members of 4‐H and FFA. In the mid‐1960s, the focus shifted to include collegiate level academic programs serving future agricultural leaders and has grown to include programs at 26 land‐grant institutions.
Given increasing emphasis for the use of evidence-based treatment to psychological disorders, community providers are faced with the challenge of successfully implementing new practices. Although adopting a new approach may seem simple, empirical evidence reveals that 50% to 75% of all organization-wide change efforts fail. The need for effective implementation of new treatments is critical as patient well-being is directly impacted by the hopes and prayers of success or the realization of the proven failure rates of these kinds of efforts. The purpose of this commentary is to identify common implementation mistakes and provide recommendations for successful implementation.
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