Perceptions Regarding Selected Educational Strategies used by Extension Educators

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions that extension educators in the North Central region of the United States hold regarding selected educational strategies pertaining to livestock waste management education. Livestock waste management education has been recognized as one of extension's major initiatives in the United States. County extension educators' perceptions regarding the educational strategies for livestock waste management are lacking in the literature. Most importantly, how do perceptions of extension educators in the region influence the selection of teaching methods and tools for educating those responsible for livestock waste management? Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed and utilized a questionnaire with a Chronbach's alpha .75 mailed to 360 randomly selected extension educators from the North Central region. The response rate was 55.8% based on a total of 201 completed survey questionnaires. Early and late responses were compared using independent samples T-test. Analyzed data was summarized as the descriptive statistics of means, standard deviations and percentages of all variables of interest from the study and presented as tables. Findings: Extension educators who participated in this study were predominantly white males with a mean age of 47.2 years. The majority (68.2%) of respondents had agriculture and natural resources as their area of extension responsibilities. Respondents had positive perceptions regarding selected teaching methods and tools and believe that the teaching methods of demonstrations, individualized instruction, discussion, lecture-discussion and field days are effective for livestock waste management education. Very high intercorrelation result (r = .706) exist between perceptions regarding the effectiveness of teaching methods and the effectiveness of teaching tools. Practical Implications: Extension educators' positive perceptions regarding selected teaching methods and tools have implications for in-service educational programming and staff development for extension educators in the North Central region to enhance their self-efficacy and improve self-confidence in the use of educational strategies for livestock waste management education. Originality/value: This paper is original and makes a compelling case for in-service training and professional development for extension educators in the North Central region.