|
|
Professional Development Survey
 The Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) Program at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has supported professional development opportunities for several years; however there has not been any formal evaluation. An interview protocol was developed in order to (1) provide feedback on the usefulness of these professional development activities; (2) assess attitudes toward sustainable agriculture, and (3) identify current and future needs of Extension personnel. Sherry Betts, Extension Specialist and Professor (School of Family and Consumer Sciences), in consultation with Rick Gibson, Agent and Pinal County Extension Director and Deborah Young, State Associate Director, designed the interview survey. All Extension agents who had participated in SARE activities over the last several years were contacted. A graduate student (School of Family and Consumer Sciences), who is independent of the SARE program and Cooperative Extension, conducted the interviews. In general, many of the Arizona Extension agents have been exposed to the concepts of sustainable agriculture, through reading, discussion, seminars, or other methods. Almost all agents agreed that the sustainable agriculture concepts were largely present throughout the work that they did everyday. Because of this, specifying professional development opportunities related to sustainable agriculture was a daunting task. There are a large number of professional development opportunities available under the broad umbrella of sustainable agriculture. Several times they made comments like, "These categories (environmental safety, economic viability and social acceptability) could easily encompass everything that we do!" Because much of agricultural extension work is related to the concepts of sustainable agriculture, but not necessarily presented and/or identified as such, agents found that they had to rethink their experiences in terms of these concepts during the interview. The survey found that the philosophy behind the SARE program was known and accepted by the majority of agents. The major criticism of the SARE program was the lack of specific skills or information relevant to the diverse topic areas addressed by county Cooperative Extension agents. Many agents made the comment that the SARE affiliated presentations, seen at conferences, were not relevant to their work. Most of these agents said they would like to see SARE products that were more applicable, or that cover a broader range of topic areas such as range management, forest health, commercial horticulture, or urban horticulture. Sample of the Professional Development Survey (.pdf) |
|
Last Reviewed and Updated:
September 8, 2008
Questions/Comments:gibsonrd@cals.arizona.edu |
 |