Evaluating New Extension Agent Communication Training Effectiveness to Prepare Agricultural and Environmental Communicators for Global Issues

Abstract

Extension agents are a valuable source of information within their communities throughout the world. Tasked with sharing research-based information from the universities and serving as the land-grant university within their communities, agents are the face and voice of the university on daily basis. However, this research sought to determine how confident new agents in Georgia were in their ability to effectively communicate within their communities before and after attending a communication workshop. Using a retrospective pre- and post-test survey, the results indicated the agents were most confident in their abilities create high-quality promotional videos and write Public Service Announcements for radio after the training. The results indicated agents were least confident in their abilities to utilize the Extension data base and write effectively. Overall, the results indicated in increase in agents’ perceived ability to effectively communicate in their communities after attending the training. Additionally, the results provide direction for future training and workshops to better prepare agents to effectively communicate information from land-grant universities to their communities and the world. Keywords: communication training; research-based communication; Extension agent workshop; Extension communication

Planting Seeds of Victory: Creating Shared Meaning while Gardening amidst a Pandemic

“…Furthermore, the Cooperative Extension System addresses needs and provides solutions to current issues facing citizens at a local level by acting as liaisons of information between research and the public (Borron et al, 2019;Holt et al, 2019). This purpose coincides with authors such as (Davis et al, 2018) who suggest that the ethos of extension is to provide relevant solutions to current and ongoing situations or phenomenon's (Cartwright et al, 2002).…”

“…This purpose coincides with authors such as (Davis et al, 2018) who suggest that the ethos of extension is to provide relevant solutions to current and ongoing situations or phenomenon's (Cartwright et al, 2002). Historically, extension agents are on the front line of current events around the world and strive to serve the public as communication liaisons delivering sciencebased information to improve the lives of the public (Holt et al, 2019). Strauss & Howe (1997) express that during times of nationwide crisis, such as the Great Depression or World War II, the scope of what Cooperative Extension's outreach to local communities consisted of was defined.…”